The only Scottish round of the BTCC has got underway at Knockhill circuit with first practice.
All the cars that were involved in the big shunts have made it up here, including Dan Welch, Ollie Jackson, Ashley Sutton, Mark Howard and Hunter Abbott who were the worst damaged.
Dan Welch has built up a car from a spare shell last used at Silverstone 2015 and just finished in time. The only driver change this weekend is Dave Newsham, who is returning to Power Maxed for one meeting to replace Kelvin Fletcher, who is expecting a baby with his partner.
So in sunny conditions the cars went out on track with Jason Plato’s Subaru setting the fastest time. The first twenty two cars were separated by less than a second with the BTCC continuing to provide very competitive racing.
Tom Ingram was second for Speedworks in his Toyota Avensis just ahead of Ashley Sutton in the newly rebuilt works MG. Adam Morgan was his usual consistent self in fourth for the Wix Racing team just ahead of championship leader Sam Tordoff. Andrew Jordan was sixth despite going off part way through the session bringing out the first of two red flags which limited running as the clock isn’t stopped when a practice session is halted.
Aiden Moffat was the best of the Scots in seventh, his Laser tools Racing Mercedes just fractions of a second slower than the sister Wix Racing Machine of Adam Morgan despite Morgan being three places ahead.
Josh Cook was eighth in the second works MG with Jack Goff’s IHG Rewards Club BMW only four thousandths of a second off Cook’s time.
Local driver Gordon Shedden was tenth but expect him to rise up the order when qualifying takes place later. Rob Austin was eleventh for Handy Motorsport, the popular driver hoping to repeat the podium they got at Snetterton. Jake Hill was the first of the RCIB Insurance/Team Hard cars in twelfth with Tordoff’s team mate and championship rival Rob Collard in thirteenth.
Colin Turkington was fourteenth, the second best of the Subarus with Plato the only Subaru driver to make the top ten. James Cole and Warren Scott were seventeenth and twenty first respectively.
Hunter Abbott completed the top half of the field in his Power Maxed Chevrolet. The car has been totally rebuilt after it’s dramatic Snetterton start line roll.
Matt Neal was unusually off the pace in thirtieth, it’s not yet known if this was due to a problem or was a deliberate move by the team.
Dan Wlech’s Proton, which was running for the first time, only completed nine laps as they ironed out any issues with the almost totally new car.
Returning driver Dave Newsham was twentieth as he readjusted to the BTCC after racing in Rally cross the rest of this season. He had a minor off through the gravel but the car was undamaged. By Marc Waller
