DAN Rowbottom claimed his first British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) win of the season at Snetterton.
The Kidderminster driver finished fourth in race one to just miss out on a place on the podium.
However, Rowbottom roared to victory in race two as he held off Adam Morgan to cross the line just 0.355 seconds ahead of the Team Vertu driver.
Rowbottom, who drives for NAPA Racing UK, finished the weekend with a 17th place finish to sit fourth in the drivers’ standings on 85 points.
The race win is Rowbottom’s third in the BTCC and the Kidderminster driver wants to challenge for the title this season.
Rowbottom said: “It was good, we couldn’t really not win, we had a soft tyre and we started in P4, there was a lot of pressure but the guys delivered a fantastic hard.
“We worked really hard on a different path for our setup and it’s working really well so far.
“All credit to the team, it’s more them than me, I just point it in the right direction.
“We had to manage [the turbo boost] a little bit at the end, we were really counting down the clock.
“I made the choice with one lap to go to use all of the boost to try and keep the gap, it very nearly didn’t work.
“The car has been fantastic all weekend. We want to win races, and my target is to challenge for the championship at the end of the day.
“I’ve finally got a car I’m actually enjoying driving, we’re getting there now.”
The 36-year-old fended off a number of challengers to claim his first win of the season.
Rowbottom engaged in a battle with Daniel Lloyd for the race lead as the two drivers swapped places more than once.
Morgan then went in pursuit of Rowbottom and had more turbo boost available in the final two laps.
However, Rowbottom defended superbly, using every inch of the track, to stay ahead until the chequered flag fell.
The BTCC season continues at Thruxton on the weekend of June 7 and 8.
