DROITWICH team Halfords Yuasa Racing's new boy Dan Cammish drew first blood in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship's Jack Sears Trophy battle at Brands Hatch.

The new Honda Civic Type R (FK8) showed glimpses of its potential on its series debut.

Despite having only first turned a wheel in his car at season launch a week-and-a-half ago, Cammish broke the Brands Hatch Indy circuit lap record in qualifying on what looked a stunning pole-position run.

But the Yorkshireman had his times erased after passing through a red light in the pit-lane, leaving him with it all to do over again.

Undeterred, the 28-year-old dug deep to secure fourth on the grid with team-mate Matt Neal directly behind in sixth.

On a damp track for race one following earlier rain, Cammish nailed his getaway and scythed past former champion Andrew Jordan on the run-up to Druids.

He subsequently had to get his elbows out as his rivals welcomed him to the BTCC, earning a hard-fought eighth place.

The two-time Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion got stuck in again in race two but as the track increasingly dried out his wet tyres rapidly faded and he had no defence against those who had boldly opted for slicks.

After taking the chequered flag 16th he completed his day’s work with a second points haul for 11th in race three.

Neal’s challenge was almost immediately undone in the curtain-raiser when contact ahead removed him from contention on the opening lap.

The three-time title-winner rolled the dice in race two by bolting slick tyres onto his Honda but struggled for traction in the early stages and found himself used as a punching bag by a number of adversaries.

He recovered with a charge through the field from 29th to 12th in the day’s finale.

The second round is at Donington Park on April 28 and 29.

Cammish said: “It’s been a rollercoaster ride but the car is back in one piece with all four wheels pointing in the same direction and I’ve come away with my first BTCC trophy so I’d call that a win.

"I was heartbroken after qualifying because it was probably the best lap I’ve ever driven but to top the timesheets showed what this car is capable of so I think I laid down a bit of a marker there.

"Pulling a time out over a single lap is something I’ve always enjoyed but I knew the races would be more brutal than anything I’d experienced before.”

Neal said: “My weekend obviously unravelled in race one.

"I tried to do something a little off-piste in race two but it was a struggle which was compounded by getting knocked around a bit for good measure.

"We at least made up 17 places in race three which demonstrated the potential of the new Civic Type R and there are a lot of reasons for optimism moving forward.”

Tom Ingram leads the drivers' standings with 40 points after winning race three following victories for Senna Proctor and Jack Goff.