Sebastian Vettel and Nico Hulkenberg couldn't secure a seventh Race of Champions Nations Cup victory for Germany in London on Friday after being beaten by England's Andy Priaulx and Jason Plato.
The victory is England's first Nations Cup win since the event was added to the ROC in 1999.
BTCC stars Priaulx and Plato went up against Jenson Button and Alex Buncombe in the semi-final, beating the Formula 1 and Blancpain Endurance Series racers to go head-to-head with Ferrari's Vettel and Force India's Hulkenberg in the final.
Priaulx beat Vettel in the first heat, but Hulkenberg fought back against Plato, levelling the score. A decider between Priaulx and Hulkenberg saw the German miss out by +1.807 seconds.
"It's brilliant to win in front of your home fans. We're so happy to finally bring the trophy home," commented Priaulx.
Vettel, who has won six previous Nations Cup's alongside Michael Schumacher, added: "It hurts a lot, hurts a lot. We tried everything but I think it was their day. It been a great night."
Saturday plays host to the Champion of Champions event which will see every driver go head-to-head to claim the ultimate crown.
Competing tomorrow: Daniel Ricciardo, Mick Doohan, Felipe Massa, Nelson Piquet Jr, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Hulkenberg, Jason Plato, Andy Priaulx, Jenson Button, Alex Buncombe, David Coulthard, Susie Wolff, Tom Kristensen, Petter Solberg, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Jose Maria Lopez, Chris Hoy, Jolyon Palmer and Pascal Wehrlein.
