Stefan Hodgetts gave Alfa Romeo their highest British Touring Car Championship starting slot of the year at the weekend when he qualified his GA Motorsports Alfa Romeo 156 GTA in eighth place for round 22 at Brands Hatch.

Hodgetts, who recently switched from driving the BTCC's pace setting Vauxhall Astra Coupe to pilot the privately-entered Alfa, was just sixth tenth's away from Matt Neal's pole-winning Honda Civic Type-R, and within two tenth's of factory-backed cars from Vauxhall, Honda and SEAT.

However race one, held on the short-course "Indy" track, saw his good work undone after he collided at high-speed, on lap 22 out of 27, with the Team Petronas Syntium Proton Impian of Shaun Watson-Smith, along the start-finish straight, a action that saw him officially reprimanded by the stewards.

He thus started the second race from the penultimate row of the grid, but retired after just six laps, while the third and final race of the day saw him manage to complete only fourteen laps.