New Malden’s Tom Onslow-Cole has admitted securing his first British Touring Car Championship win of the season at the expense of team-mate Tom Chilton was a bitter-sweet experience.

The 22-year-old Team Aon star was elevated to first place in round eight of the competition at Brands Hatch on Sunday after his colleague was disqualified when his car failed a mandatory technical check.

It followed Onslow-Cole’s third-place finish in round seven of the three-race Bank Holiday weekend action and helped move him to seventh in the driver’s standings to give his title hopes a boost.

His subsequent winning margin of 0.009secs - ahead of Gordon Shedden - is the closest in BTCC history, but the former Brooklands College student insists his first triumph for his new team wasn’t quite the experience he had expected.

“That was one of the most exciting races I’ve ever been in. It was a fantastic scrap over second place,” he said.

“With results changed I actually got a win, but it’s a bit hollow when you inherit it from your team mate who was obviously pretty unfortunate.”

Chilton put his Ford Focus ST on pole - with Onslow-Cole qualifying in ninth - and secured a first ever Championship win for a Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) powered car.

His team mate made it an historic double by default in the following race, leaving team boss Mike Earle confident of further progress at Oulton Park next time out.

“It’s been a very bitter-sweet day for us. Great to have made history for Calor’s LPG technology, great for Ford, but at the same time sad for one of our drivers,” he added.

“We’ve achieved two wins and a 3rd, but it should have been two wins, a 2nd and a 3rd.

“Performance wise we’ve taken a giant step forward and that is down to the tireless work put in by everyone involved in the programme to get the Ford Focus to where it is now.

“We’re probably approaching 75 per cent of its potential now, there’s still some way to go in the championship and I feel it’s going to get more enjoyable.”