Colin Turkington got the defence of his fourth BTCC off to an impressive start
Reigning British Touring Car champion Colin Turkington collected his first win of the season after an action-packed opening round at Donington Park.
Turkington finished second from pole position in race one but dominated race two for Team BMW.
The 38-year-old was tenth in the reverse-grid race three, with fellow Northern Irishman Chris Smiley second.
Smiley got his campaign off to a strong start by finishing eighth and 12th in the first two races.
After setting a new lap record at Donington in Saturday's qualifying, Turkington finished race one as runner-up to the Team Dynamics Honda of Dan Cammish.
In race two, Turkington jumped the Yorkshire driver off the line and secured a lights-to-flag victory despite a mid-race safety car period.
It was the turn of Smiley, who was making his debut in the Hyundai i30N, to start from pole position in the reverse-grid race three.
Ollie Jackson jumped the 28-year-old off the line, who responded with a fine move for the lead at the Old Hairpin on lap seven.
Infiniti's Ash Sutton managed to get the better of Smiley with seven laps to go to win, however the Hyundai driver held on to take the manufacturer's first BTCC podium.
Turkington leads the championship by six points over Cammish, with Smiley in seventh with 24 races remaining.
Chris Smiley secured Hyundai and Excelr8's first BTCC podium
Belfast schoolboy Tom Edgar had a mixed weekend as he began his Ginetta Junior Championship campaign.
Edgar raced secured two best finishes of eighth, either side of a 12th-place finish after early contact around the Leicestershire circuit.
The Northern Irish trio will be back in action at Brands Hatch on 8-9 August.
Elsewhere, Dan Harper's impressive start to life as BMW Junior driver continues after finishing second in class in the latest Nürburgring Endurance Series event around the Nordschleife.
In Italy, Ireland's Craig Breen won Rally Di Alba ahead of fellow Hyundai drivers Jari Huttunen and Dani Sordo.
Josh Moffett was the next-highest Irish runner in 15th while Josh McErlean recovered from mechanical issues to finish in 17th position.
Callum Devine dropped out on the penultimate stage with a broken wheel hub while Philip Allen retired early on in the vent after a puncture.
