TONY Hughes declared himself happy after scoring a first race finish on his debut in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at the weekend.

The Knutsford driver piloted Speedworks Motorsport’s Toyota Avensis to the chequered flag in two of the three races at Brands Hatch.

“I’m pleased,” he said afterwards.

“We came here to get some miles under out belts and that’s what we did.

“I think we can be reasonably satisfied with our progress.”

Hughes had completed a single test – at home circuit Oulton Park on Tuesday – in his new-specification machine before arriving in Kent for the campaign curtain-raiser.

He was stopped in Sunday’s opener by a loose oil line.

“The car was going well and I was enjoying it,” he said.

“But I couldn’t continue with an oil leak.

“It’s a great shame because the car felt good up to that point.”

A maiden race finish followed in the afternoon when the Mobberley man secured 19th place in an eventful outing.

Starting from 19th on the grid, Hughes made a solid start to make up three places on the opening lap before a warning light on the dashboard forced him into the pits with four circuits left.

“I was well over to right of the track and heading for the pits when [race leader] Jason Plato came up behind me and tapped me in the bumper,” he said.

“Thankfully there wasn’t much damage and the warning light proved to be a false alarm, so I was able to get underway again.

“It was great to finish, but I was disappointed not to have been higher up the order.”

He claimed 21st position in the day’s final race.

At the front, reigning champion Jason Plato scored back-to-back wins in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze to start the new term in style.

Title rival Matt Neal, in a Honda Racing Team Civic, was a victor in race three.

The series heads to Donington Park for round two in a fortnight.