Power Maxed Racing's Vauxhall Astra made an impressive competitive debut in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, with Tom Chilton taking to the rostrum and Senna Proctor clinching the Jack Sears Trophy, while the team itself was awarded Manufacturers' honours.

After a tricky qualifying session around Brands Hatch Indy for all concerned, given a smattering of stoppages and on-off rainfall, Chilton and Proctor would line up 12th and 16th for the opener.

Round one yielded a top ten finish for the more senior of the outfit's driver pairing, and Proctor's maiden outing saw him net 17th and Jack Sears honours as the best-placed rookie. It was Vauxhall and PMR's return to silverware, gaining Manufacturers' honours for race one.

Both drivers worked their way up through the field in the second bout of the day and straight into the thick of the action. Proctor's choice of the Option tyre proved prudent as he gained ground early on and a timely Safety Car further bolstered Proctor's selection, allowing the softer rubber brief respite.

Chilton wasted no time in passing Jack Goff's Honda moments after the restart and the pair both continued to charge hard until the final tour – ninth and 13th their eventual finishing berths and another JST went the way of Proctor.

A favourable reverse grid draw saw Chilton on pole position for the final race of the day. The fast-starting rear-wheel drive BMW of Andrew Jordan beat him to the first corner, though, and he would stay second as long as lap eighteen before Colin Turkington in the sister BMW found a way to break Chilton's defences – not that the end result would in any way prove to be a disappointment to the BTCC returnee, who proclaimed the podium finish felt 'as good as a win,' all things considered.

Proctor rounded things off by bringing the car home once again, this time 19th – enough to clinch overall JST honours on a debut weekend to remember.

"It was a good start to my first BTCC race. The car felt good and went well, plus we landed top rookie and top manufacturer, " said Proctor. 

"I got a good start on the restart in race two and held my position as the soft tyres came in. The car felt excellent, and the Safety Car halfway through gave the tyres time to cool. To get points in my second race was a great feeling.

"The final race was a bit of a hectic one! I just focused on finishing and bringing home the Jack Sears Trophy. I received an almighty whack from behind that flat spotted my tyres, compromising my pace but I achieved my goal of finishing all three races and getting my first trophy."

Tom Chilton said: "I'm happy with the car, and I'll take a top ten for the first outing. I'll make no outlandish claims but watch this space."

"I got a poor start in relation to the rear-wheel drives but I got a better restart after the red flag. The car felt awesome as we'd set it up for a strong second half of the race. We got the balance just right as the fronts went off; we finished with a great little car.

"I got a good start in race three but the BMW's starts are renowned, and (Andrew) Jordan beat me to the first corner. I pressured for the first four laps but wanted to look after the Option tyres as well as get away from the pack behind. All was going to plan until (Colin) Turkington caught me on lap 18, I wanted to finish with a podium for the guys at PMR, so I let him past and hung on to his tail to finish third. A great race for the team at PMR and it's awesome to be back on the podium with Vauxhall again in the BTCC."

Adam Weaver, PMR Team Principal, commented: "I am thrilled with this weekend, the team have worked so hard over the winter and for them to be rewarded with a great bunch of results is fantastic. Tom drove brilliantly, we know he is a class act, and he showed his pace and maturity today, and Senna is one to watch. We have a proud tradition of spotting young talent, and Senna has not disappointed, we are thrilled to have two strong drivers in our brand new Vauxhall Astras."

Eurotech Racing made an encouraging start to the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch Indy last weekend, with the maiden pole position of the year going the way of Jeff Smith and a trio of strong points finishes collected by new boy Jack Goff.

A strong pre-season programme was cause for confidence at the Midlands outfit and practice at Brands evidenced that the pace is there in the Honda Civic Type R with Goff third fastest by Free Practice 2's end and Smith seventh.

With red flags and changeable conditions thrown into the mix for the opening qualifying session of the season, the pressure was on to find a clear run and to set a 'banker' time.

Smith was the man that timed it best – combining a tidy lap with a tow from Matt Neal's Halfords Yuasa Racing Honda to pocket pole.

Goff went well on the way to seventh given the circumstances but both he and the team felt the pace was there to go better still.

In Sunday's opening round, pole-sitter Smith started well, though lost out to the fast-starting Speedworks Motorsport Toyota of Tom Ingram. With an eye on preserving the 'Option' Dunlop rubber, the Eurotech man was caught by the hard-charging pair of Gordon Shedden and Adam Morgan. Smith then held his own in fourth, defending valiantly until a mechanical issue saw him shuffled down the pack and forced into the pit-lane and retirement. Goff, meanwhile, drove an effective race – finishing an encouraging fourth, yielding a good haul of points on his debut.

Contact on race two's initial start looked to have spun Goff out of the running from what was a strong starting berth. Fortunately, a restart enabled him to go again from fourth on the grid. Suspension damage sustained in that earlier contact, however, saw the Honda shuffled back to 12th by race's end. A brilliant drive from team-mate Smith saw him climb from the back of the pack to the cusp of the points-paying positions and 16th.

Goff solidified a weekend of positivity on the way to a battling eighth in race three. Smith survived a coming-together with Ash Sutton to work back to finish in 17th. 

Eurotech Manager Marvin Humphries said: "What a fantastic promising start to the season, to get the first pole was a massive boost to the team. We are happy that the pace is there, Jack and Jeff have shown they are confident and capable of putting the cars at the sharp end and looking like a formidable combination. This is the start of a great season."

Michael Epps notched his best performance to date in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, as he spearheaded the return of Team HARD's potent Volkswagen CCs with a trio of top ten finishes around Brands Hatch Indy this past weekend.

The Autoaid/RCIB Insurance man left the Kent venue fourth in the Independent Drivers' standings, twelve months on from his debut in the championship.

Epps secured a personal best 13th in qualifying, despite being one of those caught out by rain showers and red flag stoppages. Come race day, the Hemel Hempstead racer went toe-to-toe with some of the front-runners – outmanoeuvring Tom Ingram with an audacious pass in race three was a contender for pass of the weekend.

Ninth in the opener was his highest-placed finish in Britain's premier motor racing championship. A net 10th in race two – narrowly missing out in a drag to the line with Colin Turkington's Team BMW 125i M Sport – bolstered that. Race three's ninth was the icing on the cake.

“I’m incredibly happy with how this weekend has gone, but I’m focused now. We’re climbing the mountain of the BTCC and I want to keep going," said Epps.

"We’ve got things to work on with the handling of the car and our soft tyre performance especially but this is a fantastic foundation for the season.

“We made lots of changes to the car set-up across the weekend, but the car was strong every time we went out on track. We didn’t get to show our true potential in qualifying, but we were able to really battle hard in the races and take the results we deserved.

“We’ve got a hat-trick of top ten finishes under our belt, but now we want to push for more next time out. I don’t feel like this track suited our car that much, so we’re confident that we could be even stronger at Donington Park in two weeks time."

Epps' stablemate, TAG Racing's Jake Hill, enjoyed a similarly positive start to the season given the context of his weekend.

Ninth in a tricky qualifying session tempered by rain and stoppages was an inkling as to Hill's promise. Were it not for contact in race one, the Kent racer was looking at a top ten finish and strong points. A lengthy pit-stop for repairs ensued and put pay to those chances.

Starting 28th for race two, on Option rubber, Hill and his crew enacted major set-up changes, yielding a nine-place gain and 19th.

Opportunist driving on an aggressive opening lap of the third encounter saw Hill on the edge of the points-paying positions by the start of the second tour.

Up as far as 11th place, Hill closed on team-mate Epps, the pair moving in on race-one winner Ingram. In a spectacular move that started at Druids Hairpin, Epps and Hill passed either side on back straight, taking them up to 9th and 10th places respectively.

“The car was much, much nicer in race three," said Hill. "The tyres worked well until the last few laps, and the move Mike and me pulled off on Ingram was mega!

"I can’t thank my team enough for all their efforts, and to the team’s and my fantastic partners for their support. 

“We had a great qualifying and a great final race - it is important to get points on the board at every opportunity.”

The new-boy in the Team HARD triumvirate, Will Burns, endured a testing introduction to Britain's premier motor sport championship, with a best result of 22nd position in race two.

“My first weekend in the BTCC was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before," said Burns. "It was immensely challenging, coming up against some of the best touring car drivers in the world, but we always knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

“I definitely have the pace within both me and the car to be higher up the grid. We showed that in practice, but I was unlucky in qualifying and that ultimately put me in a difficult position for race day. I finished all three races though and that was our only objective heading into the meeting.

“I’ve learnt an awful lot this weekend, about how to approach the whole meeting, how to maximise practice and qualifying, and how to make my mark in the races. I’m going to take everything I’ve learnt and continue to improve next time out at Donington Park.” 

Ciceley Motorsport’s Adam Morgan made a strong start to his 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign with a trio of top six finishes and an Independents' win at Brands Hatch last weekend.
 
Morgan’s Mac Tools-sponsored Mercedes-Benz A-Class showed its promise early on in the weekend and duly qualified a creditable sixth fastest in a session punctuated by two red flags and changeable weather conditions.

“The car worked really well all day on Saturday,” said Morgan. “I was the first person to hit the rain when it came and I was on slicks so that was tricky but I was more than confident for Sunday.”
 
That confidence proved to be well placed as the Lancashire-based driver fired off the line to take fifth at Paddock before grabbing fourth on lap six with an incisive move at Graham Hill Bend. As early pace-setter Jeff Smith ran wide in his Honda Civic Type R, reigning champion Gordon Shedden pounced with Morgan following through behind the Halfords Yuasa Racing man to secure a potential place on the podium.
 
The Accrington flyer wasn’t finished there, however, wasting no time in charging up to Shedden's rear bumper, looking to steal second. He missed out by just over 0.150s in the end as the cars took the chequered flag, but with an opening weekend podium in the bag.

“I was catching Gordon (Shedden) but I wasn’t convinced it was worth risking everything with two more races to go. I decided it was better to bank the points," said Morgan.

That result meant Morgan would be placed third on the grid for race two with the regulation success ballast in his A-Class. With weight on board, a ding-dong between Rob Austin's Handy Motorsport Toyota ensued, before a late-race clash between Andrew Jordan's BMW and Austin's Avensis, just ahead of Morgan – allowing the Ciceley racer to nip through past the 125i M Sport. With Austin's post-race exclusion, this would yield a net fourth for Morgan, who added: “Carrying all that weight made it hard, but I had a go at Austin and there was a bit of a rub. He got his own back so I tried to stay with him and we then caught Jordan, so fourth became another good haul of points.”

Race three brought more reason for cheer for a packed garage full of the team's Mac Tools, WIX Filters and Fuchs Lubricants guests as Morgan hustled the Mercedes to fifth overall and the Independents' Trophy as well as the Independent Drivers' Championship lead heading to Leicestershire's Donington Park in just under a fortnight's time.

“It was a brilliant opening weekend,” said Adam. “I should have let Colin Turkington past earlier in race three because defending him hurt my tyres, but to come home fifth and win the Independents’ Trophy is fantastic. We've never had as good a start to the season as this and it is a great way of saying thanks to all of our partners for the support. We go to Donington at Easter looking for overall wins.”
 
Ciceley Motorsport’s Commercial Manager Norman Burgess said: “Adam has been fantastic this weekend and our sponsors couldn’t be happier. To come away with an Independents race win is great but Adam is leading the Independents Trophy for drivers and Ciceley Motorsport is leading the Independents’ Team Trophy. It has been the ideal way to welcome Mac Tools on board and to thank our many guests who cheered Adam all weekend.  Now, we need to put the silverware away and look forward to Donington and maintain the great pace we have shown at Brands Hatch.”

Success for Ingram, Shedden and Jordan in BTCC curtain raiser

After a breathless round three from Brands Hatch, btcc.net caught up with race winner, BMW Pirtek Racing's, Andrew Jordan, his West Surrey Racing stablemate – Team BMW's Colin Turkington, as well as Power Maxed Racing's Tom Chilton.

Andrew Jordan completed a dream debut for BMW by claiming a victory in the final Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at the opening Brands Hatch weekend.

Jordan – who switched from Ford to BMW machinery during the off-season – held off a late attack from fellow stablemate Colin Turkington. The pair touched briefly during the final lap, but Jordan held on to claim an historic win for the returning manufacturer.

Tom Chilton made it a memorable podium as Vauxhall marked its own BTCC comeback with a fine third place for Power Maxed Racing.

BMW Pirtek Racing's Jordan blasted from third on the grid to lead the pack into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time, as Mat Jackson faced heartache while trying to follow suit. Jackson's Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo with Ford went around the outside of Chilton's Vauxhall Astra, but the former ran out of road and endured a trip across the gravel.

Chilton maintained second while fellow front-row starter Josh Cook was shuffled down the order in the Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport Ford Focus. Cook was sixth by the end of lap three but worse was to follow for the young driver as he would eventually finish 26th after running wide at Druids Hairpin.

Tom Ingram was another struggling to hold station with his ballast-laden Toyota Avensis slipping behind Matt Neal, before he was tag-teamed by the charging Team HARD-run duo of Michael Epps and Jake Hill.

Turkington had jumped from from tenth to third in the BMW 125i M Sport by a little over mid-distance and he busily reeled in Chilton ahead of him. The series returnee had no answer – deciding discretion is the better part of valour – and he allowed Turkington to nip by on lap 17.

Far from settling for second, Turkington reeled in fellow WSR driver Jordan at a rate of knots, and was on the blue Pirtek machine's tail for the final few laps. He tried everything he could to get by – including a friendly rub through Clearways – but 2013 champion held firm to lead home a fantastic one-two for BMW.

Neal took fourth from Adam Morgan, with both finishing ahead of the fading Rob Collard, whilst Gordon Shedden had to settle for seventh – cementing an extremely positive day for the reigning champion. Eurotech Racing's topsy turvy day ended with eighth for Jack Goff, whilst the impressive Epps and Hill rounded out the top ten.

Andrew Jordan said: "That was quite a start wasn’t it with rear-wheel drive and a new team? I was getting a bit twitchy with Colin (Turkington) looking really, really strong on the soft tyres behind – the rear-wheel drive expert! We had a little rub at the end there but it was a good way to end. I knew he wasn’t going to do anything silly. It wasn’t the calmest moment of my career when he did get past Tom (Chilton). I was hoping he’d be behind him a bit longer but I knew he was coming. I just kept driving to my markers, tried not to look in my mirrors any more than usual and tried to be kind on the left rear tyre. It’s special really, to get the win on my first event with BMW Pirtek Racing and West Surrey Racing. It’s down to the team – credit to the guys for all the work they’ve put in, especially with the addition of the new engine."

Colin Turkington said: "It’s so easy to let the head drop at the start of the day when you make 12 yards off the line and end up facing the traffic but I’ve been around in this championship for so long that I know you’ve just got to look to the next race. Race two was where all the hard work was done really, carving through from the back and giving myself a chance with a good slot on the grid for race three. The guys gave me a great car in the BMW for the last one. We tweaked it for the soft tyre and I couldn’t believe the pace. I got close to Andy (Jordan) but we had our instructions and I wasn’t going to do anything silly!"

Tom Chilton said: "It was perfect. It’s our first event of the year and we’re still learning the car. It shows what a great job Power Maxed Racing has done and to get a podium, even with a bit of luck with the reverse grid draw, it’s brilliant. It’s put me right up there in the championship in a new car – it’s amazing. I didn’t expect it at all. The BTCC has 32 of the best drivers in Britain and some of the best teams around, so to get a result is very difficult – especially a podium, so I’m absolutely over the moon. It was quite special and for us, it felt like a win."

2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 3 – Brands Hatch (Indy):

1 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing 24 laps
2 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.315s
3 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +4.692s
4 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +7.558s
5 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Ciceley Motorsport +10.205s
6 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Team BMW +10.812s
7 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +11.719s
8 Jack GOFF (GBR) Eurotech Racing +12.141s
9 Michael EPPS (GBR) Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing +12.970s
10 Jake HILL (GBR) TAG Racing +14.367s
11 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +18.859s
12 Aron TAYLOR-SMITH (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +21.500s
13 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +21.648s
14 Dave NEWSHAM (IRL) BTC Norlin Racing +22.117s
15 Daniel LLOYD (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +22.587s
16 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmDtuning.com with Cobra Exhausts +23.653s
17 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +25.070s
18 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +25.546s
19 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +25.942s
20 Luke DAVENPORT (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +26.183s
21 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +26.540s
22 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +26.932s
23 Ant WHORTON-EALES (GBR) AmDtuning.com with Cobra Exhausts +29.636s
24 Josh PRICE (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +30.335s
25 Chris SMILEY (GBR) BTC Norlin Racing +33.244s
26 Josh COOK (GBR) Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport +1 lap
27 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport +2 laps
28 Will BURNS (GBR) Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing +3 laps
DNF Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +4 laps
DNF Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing
DNF James COLE (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing
DNS Jason PLATO (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing

The top three from Round 1 and 2 of the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship spoke to the official BTCC website...

Halfords Yuasa Racing's Gordon Shedden grabbed victory in a frenetic second BTCC encounter at Brands Hatch after a series of incidents interrupted proceedings.

An aborted start due to a problem for pole-sitter Tom Ingram was followed by an accident at the restart, as Jason Plato's Subaru Levorg was turned into the pitwall off the line. Heavy contact left the double champion's Japanese machine stricken on-track in a dangerous position, forcing officials to red flag the contest.

Eventually it was lights out for a reduced 20-lap race, as Ingram comfortably led the way from Shedden's Honda. The ballast-laden Toyota Avensis couldn't hang on however, as Shedden slipped by at Paddock Hill Bend on the second tour.

Battles behind involved Rob Austin, Andrew Jordan, Rob Collard and Adam Morgan as the quartet nudged eachother around 1.27-mile Indy circuit.

The young trio of Michael Epps, Ashley Sutton and Josh Cook were also scrapping in the lower half of the top ten, with contact eventually sending Sutton's Subaru skipping across the gravel at the exit of Clearways. Contact at the same corner between Dan Lloyd, Luke Davenport and Any Whorton-Eales left the latter's AmD Audi S3 beached. 

A brief spell behind the safety car followed and it was all to play for once again for the final ten laps.

Shedden seemingly had things sewn up, and his place was further cemented as Collard hauled his BMW on to the rear of Ingram's Toyota. The experienced Collard nudged Ingram through Paddock Hill on lap 20 and eventually made the move stick on the run downhill. There was little time for him to make inroads into Shedden's advantage, however, and that's how the lead trio remained until the chequered flag fell.

"That was a very bizarre race, with the re-start and everything," said race-winner Shedden. "To win with 66kg in the car is really special. Weirdly, the car probably felt better there than it did in the first race without any weight, so we’re clearly going in the right direction. Rob [Collard] was coming on strong at the end, with a fair chunk less weight than I had – I’m glad it was over when it was over really. That was long enough!"

"I was so relieved that the race was red-flagged early on, because [Rob] Austin had tipped me into a spin at Druids and I was nowhere – virtually last," responded Collard. "A good re-start was crucial for me, and after that we picked them off one by one. Andrew [Jordan] worked well with me when it was clear that I was quicker, and to get Tom [Ingram] at the end was brilliant. The BMW felt amazing throughout."

Fourth wasn't so straight forward as Austin's Handy Motorsport Toyota got into the back of Jordan's BMW at Clearways. This allowed Morgan's Mercedes to also follow through, as the Pirtek Racing BMW re-found its footing. Jordan was able to close the door on Mat Jackson's Ford Focus, initially, but he would also lose sixth place across the finish line by just 0.015s.

There was a change to the order post-race, however, as Austin was excluded from the result. This was due to his part in the Jordan incident taking place under yellow flag conditions, which bumped everyone else up the order.

Josh Cook, Tom Chilton and Colin Turkington rounded were next up in the final classification, with the latter completing a stellar comeback drive with a last gasp move by Michael Epps' VW. It was Chilton celebrating after the reverse grid draw and Austin's penalty, however, as the Power Maxed Racing car was chosen at random to take pole position in this afternoon's final race.

2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 2 – Brands Hatch (Indy):

1 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 23 laps
2 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Team BMW +0.870s
3 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +2.657s
4 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Ciceley Motorsport +4.565s
5 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +5.125s
6 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +5.140s
7 Josh COOK (GBR) Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport +8.013s
8 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +8.197s
9 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +9.441s
10 Michael EPPS (GBR) Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing +9.492s
11 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +9.672s
12 Jack GOFF (GBR) Eurotech Racing +10.260s
13 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +10.488s
14 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmDtuning.com with Cobra Exhausts +11.265s
15 Aron TAYLOR-SMITH (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +12.741s
16 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +13.002s
17 Dave NEWSHAM (IRL) BTC Norlin Racing +14.025s
18 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport +14.916s
19 Jake HILL (GBR) TAG Racing +17.857s
20 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +18.084s
21 James COLE (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +18.450s
22 Will BURNS (GBR) Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing +20.479s
23 Daniel LLOYD (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +1 lap
24 Josh PRICE (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +3 laps
DNF Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +5 laps
DNF Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +5 laps
DNF Chris SMILEY (GBR) BTC Norlin Racing +6 laps
DNF Luke DAVENPORT (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +14 laps
DNF Ant WHORTON-EALES (GBR) AmDtuning.com with Cobra Exhausts +14 laps
DNF Martin DEPPER (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +23 laps
DNF Jason PLATO (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +23 laps
EXC Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport

The fight for second spot in the opening race of the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship went down to the wire, as Gordon Shedden held off Adam Morgan by just 0.167s.

Shedden and Morgan nipped by pole-sitter Jeff Smith on the same lap, with the Halfords Yuasa Racing car initially pulling away from the Ciceley Motorsport Mercedes. The Scotsman set the fastest lap of the race, and gained the extra bonus point, before Morgan started reeling him back in.

A series of quick laps left Morgan on Shedden's tail towards the end of the race, but the latter held on to take the place, although both were happy with the result.