VAUXHALL secured double honours at Oulton Park Circuit as Yvan Muller and Paul O'Neill scored a win apiece for Vauxhall Motorsport and Egg Sport respectively in two thrilling BTCC encounters enjoyed by an enthusiastic Cheshire crowd of 16,500 people.
For Muller it was a welcome return to the top step of the winners' rostrum after a mixed opener at Brands Hatch three weeks ago.
For Liverpudlian O'Neill, who graduated to the Touring Class this season, it was a highly emotional, yet thoroughly deserved, debut victory.
Muller made the most of a drive through a penalty incurred by pole sitter Matt Neal to claim his first win of the season for Vauxhall Motorsport, from a hard-charging Warren Hughes in his MG Sport and Racing ZS and Muller's team mate, James Thompson.
He said: "This is my first victory of the year and it's very good, particularly bearing in mind the additional ballast I was carrying. I tried to look after the car in the mid section, but the last part of the race was tough as I lost my advantage with the traffic and yellow flags."
Other impressive performances included Colin Turkington, on his debut for Team Atomic Kitten, and former Superbike star Aaron Slight for Barwell Motorsport.
In the Production category, a battle for Championship honours ensued from the off with poleman James Kaye (Synchro Motosport) claiming overall victory in his Honda Civic Type-R.
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