Neal heads first Donington practice

Matt Neal headed opening Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship practice at Donington Park, but the session was one to forget for SEAT as Jason Plato finished almost a second off the pace in 11th and team-mate Darren Turner failed to complete a lap.

Reigning champion Neal, in Team Halfords’ Honda Civic, set the pace with a time of 1m13.954s – the only driver under the 1m14s barrier and, ominously for his rivals, more than a quarter of a second clear of the field.

The driver nearest to him, impressively, was Mike Jordan in his Eurotech/John Guest-Speedfit Honda Integra, with a time of 1m14.235s. He was just 0.009s clear of Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden, a double winner here in 2006.

Championship leader Fabrizio Giovanardi was next up in his Vauxhall Vectra, followed by the Team RAC BMW 320si of Tom Onslow-Cole and his own VX Racing team-mate Tom Chilton.

Plato, who trails Giovanardi by a point in the title race, was back in 11th, some 0.888s behind Neal around what is reckoned to be his SEAT Leon’s bogey track. At least Plato set a time – team-mate Turner, weaving to warm up his tyres, span off the track on his out lap heading down the Craner Curves…

Of note, it was Giovanardi, Jordan and Neal who were fastest respectively in each of the lap’s three sectors, from the start-finish straight to the Craners, then underneath the Dunlop Bridge along Starkey Straight and then again across the line. However, fastest through the two speed traps, under the bridge and across the line, were the Motorbase Performance team’s SEAT Toledos of Matt Allison and new team-mate Tom Ferrier who finished the session in eighth and 12th positions.

Elsewhere, Mat Jackson was left playing catch-up after his mechanics fixed an engine oil leak on his BMW 320si, Dave Pinkney caused minor damage to his A-Tech Alfa’s front splitter with a trip across the grass and Fiona Leggate survived an off through the gravel trap at Coppice Corner in her Kartworld MG. John George completed just three laps before parking his JAG/TH Motorsport Integra in the pit lane with brake problems.

Clutch problems with Eoin Murray’s Quest Racing Alfa kept the car in its pit garage throughout.