FIRST-TIME outright victories in the double header saloon car championship races by two former teammates and champions were among the highlights of the Motors TV Live Race Day at Castle Combe on Monday.

For the second consecutive meeting rain played an important part in the proceedings, helping former champion Tony Hutchings, from Calne, to his first outright victory in the National Mobile Windscreens Saloon Car championship race, which was televised live to 39 countries.

Hutchings used his wet weather prowess to put his Audi TT on pole for race one, but with the rain having cleared by lunchtime, the majority of the grid lined up with dry tyres.

With rain starting to fall, Hutchings took a gamble with the time available, to change to wet tyres, joining the grid just in time and going on to a lights to flag victory.

Race two also looked to be going the way of Hutchings, the TT leading for all but the last lap when it started spitting with rain.

On dry tyres this time, Hutchings was pressured into a small error going into Tower by his former Turnpike Racing teammate, Will Di Claudio, from Corsham, who had won class B in race one (fourth overall).

Bristol’s Mark Wyatt picked up a pair of podiums in his Astra with a fine second in race one after his team also performed a last-minute change to wets and a third in race two.

Mark Funnell, from Trowbridge, who took an impressive third in race one, admitted his decision to stick with dry tyres may have cost him victory.

The second race saw Funnell battle his Mini home fifth behind Melksham’s Rob Ballard in the SEAT Leon, one place up from his race one finish.

The Fiesta of Shepton Mallet’s Charles Hyde-Andrews-Bird was the class C winner in the second race, the rain benefiting Russell Akers in race one when he drove his Astra to an exceptional sixth overall.

Bath’s Guy Parr took his Fiesta to a third in class B in race two and was also busy in the pair of Vadabar Sports and GT championship races, where he was sixth and eighth in his Nemesis sports racing car.

Teammate Des Andrews, also from Bath, benefited from a first lap melee in race two to bring his Megahart 001 home in third place.

Another Bath driver, Angus Gorringe, picked up two second places in class C in the BMW Z3 M coupe, while Wrington’s Josh Smith won the Invitation class and was third overall in race one in his Radical PR6.

Castle Combe’s Formula Ford 1600 championship races, supported by Startline, were both thrillers.

Saltford’s Steven Jensen led both but was denied a win though he still came out of the weekend leading the championship.

In race one, with Jensen leading for the first eight laps, Nathan Ward took advantage of backmarkers to slip through and take his first victory with Jensen right on his tail.

Taking third was pole man Roger Orgee, who was also deposed by Ward in his do-or-die manoeuvre around Tower.

Yatton Keynell’s Luke Cooper took fourth in the Swift SC10 with Bratton’s Ben Norton in the Wiltshire College Spectrum battling through from 10th on the grid to take fifth.

Bradford on Avon’s David Vivian had a superb drive from 13th on the grid to take sixth and win class B.

Adam Higgins, from Chippenham, was pleased with second in class B on his debut in his newly-rebuilt Van Diemen RF94.

Race two saw Jensen replicating his early lead, but a brilliant drive by Norton from eighth on the grid saw the Spectrums joined together by lap seven.

As they came into Tower, Jensen defended to the inside but Norton bravely drove around the outside, going on to win by a meagre quarter of a second.

This time, Jensen was pleased with his second runner up spot of the day.

Orgee took third with Ward fourth, while a great drive to fifth went to Timsbury’s Oliver White from 10th on the grid in his Van Diemen RF01.

Vivian was the double class B winner in sixth place.

The Gadget helpline.com Castle Combe Classic series race saw a trio of highly-developed Mark 1 RS Escorts head off into the distance, led by Chipping Sodbury’s Nick Stagg with John Moon, of Batheaston, holding fourth on the debut of his Cox GTM until its battery expired on the last lap.

MEETING REACTION & PICTURES IN THURSDAY'S GAZETTE & HERALD AND FRIDAY'S WILTSHRIE TIMES