Turkington tops BTCC finale at Brands Hatch FP1

Turkington tops BTCC finale at Brands Hatch FP1

Team BMW’s Colin Turkington topped Free Practice 1 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch as the standings leader stretched his legs amidst changeable conditions.


Light morning drizzle led to a damp surface throughout the session, meaning overall lap times were largely unrepresentative.


A number of contenders failed to show their hand, choosing to keep their powder dry ahead of today’s final qualifying session of the season, but the same couldn’t be said for reigning champion Turkington.


“We’re in the right place after that session,” said Turkington. “It was very greasy on the Indy section of the circuit but the car felt good and we completed as much work as we could in the conditions. We tried out slicks and wets, got the tyres scrubbed, and a good feeling for both compounds. You’re always learning so it certainly wasn’t a wasted session.”


In fact, it was the top two in the championship that filled the top two places in this particular session as Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Dan Cammish followed Turkington home on the timesheets.


“I think we have a good package,” confirmed Cammish. “I was conscious that drivers were out there setting some good times so we needed to get some wet running in. It’s important that we get qualifying right later this afternoon as you don’t want to make things harder for yourself tomorrow.”


2017 champion Ash Sutton was third in the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing Levorg as the young gun looks to end his season on a high.


Aiden Moffat continued his recent upturn in form, firing his Laser Tools Racing Infiniti Q50 up to fourth ahead of Stephen Jelley’s Team Parker Racing BMW 1 Series.


The older shaped Honda Civic Type R of Matt Simpson – a serial performer around the legendary Brands Hatch GP circuit – was next in the order, with title contender Andrew Jordan just behind. 


Honda machinery secured the top five places on the grid at the same event last season, so the Japanese marque is likely to be a serious contender later this afternoon.


The session was briefly stopped on two occasions following separate incidents involving the VW of Michael Crees and Jelley’s BMW.


Free Practice 2 takes place at 12:05 before Qualifying for Round 28 of the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship commences at 15:05, and will streamed live via www.itv.com/btcc.


2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 1 – Brands Hatch GP

1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW 1m42.122s
2 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.030s
3 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.217s
4 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.248s
5 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +0.301s
6 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +0.389s
7 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +0.432s
8 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Team Toyota GB with Ginsters +0.505s
9 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +0.513s
10 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.551s
11 Jason PLATO (GBR) Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing +0.559s
12 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.607s
13 Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +0.643s
14 Chris SMILEY (GBR) BTC Racing +0.717s
15 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +0.922s
16 Mark BLUNDELL (GBR) TradePriceCars.com +1.062s
17 Mike BUSHELL (GBR) Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance +1.214s
18 Jake HILL (GBR) TradePriceCars.com +1.281s
19 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing +1.291s
20 Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +1.332s
21 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +1.373s
22 Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +1.385s
23 Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance +1.690s
24 Michael CAINE (GBR) Motorbase Performance +1.798s
25 Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct +1.981s
26 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport +2.102s
27 Rob SMITH (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +2.394s
28 Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Cataclean Racing with Ciceley Motorsport +2.737s
29 Michael CREES (GBR) GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct +2.795s
3o Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +3.072s


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