Sam Tordoff, who started from pole, stormed off the line to take the lead while Neal slotted in at second, but soon found himself with a mirror full of the BMW 125i M-Sport of Jack Goff going on to the Starkey Straight.

Using the superior early pace of the soft tyres, Goff went past Neal in to the chicane on the first lap and led a temporary West Surrey Racing 1-2.

Tordoff and Goff held their own for the first ten laps, before Goff’s pace suddenly dropped, allowing both Hondas to overtake in the space of two laps.

The two Halfords-backed Honda Civic Type-Rs then set about hunting down Tordoff, with Neal sliding through at McLeans on lap 14.

Shedden soon followed, with the two holding their position for the final two laps to take a reverse of the Honda 1-2 from the opening round at Brands Hatch.

Tordoff held on to finish in third, just two tenths ahead of teammate Rob Collard, with MG’s Ashley Sutton the last driver to make the most of Jack Goff’s tyres falling off the cliff.

Goff held on to sixth, narrowly beating Aiden Moffat over the line, while Rob Austin, Josh Cook and Andrew Jordan rounded out the top ten.

The race marked the first one of the season where the safety car hasn’t made an appearance, despite Adam Morgan ending up in the gravel trap at the Old Hairpin on lap six, ending any chance he had for a good result.

James Charman/TouringCarTimes

Results to follow