Dan Cammish produced a stunning drive to win the first race of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship Finals Day in treacherous wet conditions at Brands Hatch. The Halfords Yuasa Racing driver excelled in tricky conditions to win from fourth on the grid. Ash Sutton made a late charge in second to finish just eight tenths of a second adrift at the chequered flag.
Defending champion Colin Turkington could only manage ninth as he struggled in the wet at the wheel of his BMW, meaning that Sutton now has a two point championship lead with two races remaining.
As the lights went out, pole sitter Tom Ingram made a good start to lead the pack into Paddock Hill Bend. Sutton and Cammish both took advantage of a slow start from Rory Butcher to move into second and third with the Motorbase Ford driver slipping down to fourth.
On lap four, Cammish produced a brave move past Sutton at Paddock and set off in pursuit of Ingram. A lap later, Cammish and Ingram made contact at Clearways but the Honda driver opted against moving past and risking a penalty and instead slotted in behind Ingram in second. This battle allowed Sutton to close back up on the lead two, who had gapped him, and by lap seven there was just three quarters of a second coevering the leading trio.
Just as things threatened to heat up at the front, the race was neutralised due to an incident between Glynn Geddie and Sam Osbourne which resulted in both of their cars ending in the gravel trap at Druids.
The marshall swiftly cleared the debris and after three laps the safety car headed back to the pits and the race resumed. On lap 12, Cammish got a good run out of Paddock Hill Bend and bravely lunged down the inside of Ingram for the lead. This gave him the inside line down the hill and into Graham Hill Bend and he swooped into the lead.
Further back, Josh Cook dived down the inside of Turkington to move into eighth position.
As Cammish scampered off at the front, Sutton closed in on Ingram for second. He finally found a way through with just five laps remaining, diving down the inside at Surtees. Sutton then set about hunting down Cammish, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process, which earned him a crucial extra championship point.
Ultimately, Sutton ran out of laps, and followed Cammish closely home with Ingram a distant third.
Butcher was fourth ending his mathematical chances of becoming champion. His team-mate Ollie Jackson was fifth, ahead of Jake Hill in sixth.
Matt Neal was seventh, from Cook, with Turkington ninth just ahead of his team-mate Tom Oliphant who rounded out the top ten.
