Team VERTU’s Ricky Collard claimed a hard-fought victory in a dramatic and controversy-filled final BTCC race at Brands Hatch after a race featuring two safety car periods, a first-corner crash and several moments likely to attract post-race scrutiny.

Reverse-grid pole-sitter Dexter Patterson made a slow start, resulting in Collard, who started directly behind the Audi, getting boxed in, with Aiden Moffat alongside.

Behind them, NAPA Racing UK’s Sam Osborne made contact with Team VERTU’s Tom Chilton, who had clearly moved to the outside line, on the run to Paddock Hill Bend.

As a result, Osborne bounced into the other Team VERTU car of Tom Ingram, who was alongside on the inside, sending both Hyundais into the Paddock Hill gravel, with Ingram hitting the barriers backwards at speed, whilst Chilton ended his 562-race BTCC career in the gravel just metres after the start.

Behind them, Power Maxed Racing’s Nick Halstead also went off and became buried in the gravel, whilst further around the corner Lewis Selby made contact with Daniel Rowbottom and both went through the gravel, although were able to rejoin.

With three cars stranded at the first corner, the safety car was called upon, although not before Collard had passed Patterson for the lead into Druids.

The race was neutralised for five laps before resuming on lap seven, with Collard making a good restart from Patterson, who was soon passed by NAPA’s Ash Sutton for second.

The five-time champion made his intentions clear that he was going for the win, flashing his lights repeatedly at Collard over the next two laps.

Exiting Hawthorns Bend on lap nine Sutton tried to dive inside Collard for the lead, only for the Team VERTU driver to aggressively force Sutton onto the grass.

Unable to slow his car on the grass on the inside, Sutton rejoined the circuit and skitted through the gravel, dropping to ninth and promoting Patterson back into second.

Less than a lap later, Cammish took over the mantle as challenger from Patterson, diving inside at Druids for second. Within a lap, the Ford driver was himself pressuring Collard for the lead, but racing had to be suspended again on lap 12 when CPRL’s Daniel Rowbottom pulled off the circuit, his brakes on fire, causing another safety car period.

After a further two laps behind the safety car, racing resumed on lap 15 – but not before more controversy involving Collard. After appearing to accelerate to restart the action, Collard lifted before going again, catching out Cammish behind and several drivers further back, who had to briefly take to the verge to avoid contact.

Collard went on to withstand the pressure from Cammish thereafter to record an on-the-road victory, with Cammish in second, despite having been briefly passed by a recovering Sutton on the final lap.

Sutton completed the podium in third – his 21st visit to the rostrum this season to record a record number of podium finishes since the start of the 30-race-per-year era (although still short of the absolute record of 24 recorded by Jason Plato in 2001).

Patterson finished in fourth, equalling his best-ever finish and coming just short of a maiden outright podium finish.

Moffat was fifth, ahead of CPRL’s Adam Morgan in sixth. Josh Cook was the leading Toyota in seventh, ahead of Restart Racing’s Daniel Lloyd in eighth.

Laser Tools Racing’s Gordon Shedden came from the back of the grid to take ninth – although not before further controversy. As team-mate Árón Taylor-Smith was pressuring WSR’s Charles Rainford for eighth, the latter rain wide, before coming back and tagging the rear of the Toyota, sending Taylor-Smith off into the barriers, with Shedden passing both in the process.

New Independent champion Mikey Doble completed the top ten in his Power Maxed Audi, marking the first-ever time Power Maxed have finished all three races in a weekend with three drivers inside the top ten in all three races.