Brands Hatch Practice One

SEAT driver Darren Turner headed opening Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship practice at Brands Hatch, although his car ended the session stuck in a gravel trap, while champion-elect Matt Neal was lucky to escape a brush with the barriers.

On a fully dry track, Turner set the pace around the Brands Indy circuit in a time of 49.646s. That was just 0.032s faster than team-mate Jason Plato who completed a SEAT 1-2. But Turner failed to see the chequered flag – on his final run, he lost control of his Leon and it slid straight on into the gravel at the Druids Bend hairpin.

A terrific third fastest was Mike Jordan in his Team Eurotech Racing with John Guest Honda Integra – he was just 0.002s slower than Plato in a session where times were incredibly tight and also difficult to come by as the season’s biggest field to date of 24 cars circulated around the season’s shortest circuit. Indeed, the top 16 drivers were covered by less than a second.

Fourth was Neal, who of course can clinch his second title in a row this weekend. His time, as ever, was hugely impressive considering his Team Halfords Honda Integra is carrying maximum success ballast – an extra 45kgs of weight – by dint of his leading the series. But Neal could count himself fortunate… the nose of car suffered light damage when he lost control through Graham Hill Bend and scraped along the barriers on the inside of the circuit.

There were also problems for Neal’s team-mate and local driver to Brands, Beckenham-based Gareth Howell who ground to a halt in a car filling with smoke.

Colin Turkington, second-placed in the championship, was sixth fastest in his bio-ethanol-fuelled Team RAC MG ZS. Continuing their good form following best-ever results at Knockhill were Dave Pinkney, seventh in Motorbase Performance’s Honda Integra, and Jason Hughes, ninth in his bio-fuelled Kartworld Racing MG ZS. Making his return to the BTCC, former VXR driver Paul O’Neill was 15th fastest in Thurlby Motors with Tech-Speed’s bio Astra Coupé.

Turkington’s team-mate Robert Collard was the only other driver to suffer any dramas of note when he endured a lurid spin onto the grass at Graham Bill Bend.

Chris Stockton, driving BTC Racing’s Lexus IS200, was 17th fastest, the highest-placed of four drivers making their BTCC debuts this weekend. Of note, he was faster than the Xero Competition team’s Lexus that has starred during the season in the hands of the highly-rated Adam Jones.

Nick Leason was 21st in NJL Racing with Daniels Motorsport Astra Coupé, while Mark Jones and Darren Dowling were 23rd and 24th in their Team Forward Racing and BTC Lexus respectively.