Matt Neal denied Adam Morgan victory in a tense final Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Knockhill, snatching the win with just over a lap remaining.
Morgan made the jump on his Mercedes stablemate Aiden Moffat from pole position as the lights went out to start the race, both gapping the field in the opening laps.
The pair of Mercedes A-Class machines streaked away on the restart, Morgan’s rapid getaway again giving him vital car lengths at the head of the pack.
After just four laps Morgan had a lead of over three seconds, while lap nine saw a switch for second as Moffat ran wide exiting the chicane, third place starter Neal pouncing on the kerb-happy Scot.
Morgan held onto his lead but was reeled in late on when he picked up some debris in the last three laps, Neal pouncing in dramatic fashion at the final corner with just over a lap remaining on his way to claiming victory 12 months after he did so at the same circuit.
Behind them, Moffat was denied a maiden BTCC podium on home turf by a charging Andy Priaulx, who stuck his West Surrey Racing BMW 125i inside the Mercedes with just two laps remaining in a somewhat forceful move at Scotsmans.
Both had made contact exiting the hairpin prior to the move, Moffat settling for a fine fourth while Rob Austin was next up ahead of championship leader Jason Plato, who comes away with an 11-point lead over Gordon Shedden.
Andrew Jordan was next up for MG, Shedden next after an eventful race for Honda. Mat Jackson (Ford) and Martin Depper (Honda) rounded out the top 10, while Colin Turkington‘s disappointing weekend ended with 15th place.
Rob Collard, race one winner earlier in the day, endured a much more eventful race for WSR, ending after a big spin down Duffus Dip on lap 23. His team-mate Sam Tordoff meanwhile had surged through the pack from 22nd to fifth place, but damage sustained in late contact also ended his race and dented his title charge significantly.
