Tom Ingram has set the early pace at Oulton Park as the first BTCC practice session took place in overcast but dry conditions.
Ingram didn’t move to the top of the timing screens until late in the session, setting the lap on his seventeenth of eighteen laps.
It’s the local circuit for Speedworks, who run Ingram’s Toyota Avensis and so another win here would be a popular one!
Aron Smith continued his impressive pace in the Team BKR VW CC taking second place with the car still running the older GPRM built NGTC parts. Shedden was the first of the works drivers taking third in his Honda Civic Type R with Andrew Jordan narrowly behind in his Pirtek Racing Ford Focus.
Jack Goff was in fifth on a circuit which usually suits his WSR run IHG Rewards club BMW. Hunter Abbott was a surprise sixth in his Power Maxed Racing Chevrolet Cruze, if he can do the same in qualifying it would be his best ever starting position.
Daniel Lloyd was seventh in his Honda Civic for Eurotech, well ahead of his older team mates with Depper and Smith in nineteenth and twenty second respectively.
Eighth was Sam Tordoff in the sister car to Goff’s with his Team JCT600 with GardX team mate Rob Collard down in eighteenth. Ninth was Josh Cook in the works MG with team mate Ashley Sutton in fourteenth. Sutton had been a front runner early in the session but was bumped down the order as drivers improved. The entire top fourteen are separated by just over a second, impressively close on a circuit that’s over 2.2 miles in length.
Completing the top ten was Colin Turkington in his works Subaru Levorg. The team have been working hard on the cars since being forced out of Thruxton on Safety issues linked their fuel system. There are also several performance upgrades including significant engine improvements.
So far only Turkington has shown the car’s pace with Scott, Plato and Cole in sixteenth, twenty fourth and twenty fifth respectively.
Free practice two takes place at 12:45pm before qualifying commences at 15:20, which can be viewed online at www.itv.com/btcc.
Full times are available from TSL timing By Marc Waller
