The two Britons Rob Huff and Tom Chilton have disagreed over who’s responsible for the collision on lap seven of the first race at Ningbo in China.

The two came together whilst fighting for sixth place, with both drivers immediately eliminated from the race.

Huff effectively came off worse, as the Münnich team were unable to repair his car for Race 2, while Chilton’s team were able to get him to make the start of the red-flagged half-points race, which then gave Chilton the independents’ win and moves him four points clear in the independent drivers’ classification.

“I got past and then dropped (Gabriele) Tarquini quickly and then caught Tom,” said Huff to TouringCarTimes. “And on the same lap he then defended into Turn 5 on the left, while I was on the right – he went long into 5 and went in far too deep. I did the switchback and gave him some room but he went off at Turn 6, rejoined and went straight into me.

“The team then did an amazing job to get the car fixed, but when I went out I realised we couldn’t make that race as the steering rack was also broken which we hadn’t realised, and had no time to fix it.”

Chilton said the fault laid at Huff’s door, believing that the 37-year-old had lost control of his car into Turn 6.

“I’m a little upset,” said Chilton to TouringCarTimes.

“Rob knows there’s a massive puddle on the right-hand side at that corner, and I got a wiggle on just by hitting the corner of the puddle on the left; he went straight through it and aquaplaned through, but somehow he managed to sort it. He then came across for the switchback, but at the right-hander as I’ve come left I reckon he’s had wheelspin off the puddle and slid into me and hit me really hard and destroyed our front-left upright.”