Mikey Doble charges to victory in frenetic Silverstone opener

Mikey Doble made it back-to-back wins in the British Touring Car Championship after charging to victory in the opening contest of the day at Silverstone.

The Power Maxed Racing driver started the contest from pole position but lost the lead to team-mate Aiden Moffat as the lights went out.

From there, the Audi A3 Saloon drivers largely dominated proceedings as they streaked clear of the chasing pack, which was led by the EXCELR8 Hyundai of Tom Chilton.

Controlling proceedings at the front of the field, Moffat looked on course to become the latest race winner this campaign before he was hit with a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.

That ultimately dropped the Scotsman to fourth while Doble reigned for the second successive race, having triumphed in race three at Croft.

Chilton – who this weekend has switched to a TOCA M-Sport engine – enjoyed a trouble-free drive to finish second, while Josh Cook produced a sublime charging driver to finish third on the soft tyre.

Moffat slotted into fourth after his penalty with Daryl De Leon, three-time champion Gordon Shedden and Charles Rainford completing the top seven.

Rounding out the top ten was CPRL’s Adam Morgan, the second MB Motorsport Toyota Corolla of Aron Taylor-Smith and the second Mercedes of Dan Rowbottom.

Ash Sutton’s pursuit of a record-breaking fifth BTCC title is set to continue a little while longer after he fell one point short of what he needed to secure him an unassailable lead.

Fellow championship protagonists Tom Ingram and Dan Cammish endured their fair share of travails too, with Ingram battling back from a spin on lap one and Cammish being forced to pit with an issue.