Gordon Shedden topped the times during the opening session of the Goodyear Tyre Test earlier today, as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship grid battled the heat at Snetterton.

With temperatures soaring from the off, 29 drivers headed out onto the 2.97-mile circuit throughout the four-hour session, but it was Halfords Racing with Cataclean's Shedden that set the benchmark.

The top eight on TSL's timesheets were separated by less than a second, as over 700 laps and more than 2,100 miles were completed throughout the session, which was littered by no fewer than six red-flag stoppages.

Toyota GAZOO Racing UK's Ricky Collard and Rory Butcher would trade places at the top of the times early on, before Josh Cook (Rich Energy BTC Racing) and Dan Cammish (NAPA Racing UK) graced the spot.

A flying lap from Shedden, and an improvement on the following tour, would see the Scotsman pip P1 a little over an hour into the session, where he stayed for the remainder.

Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com's Tom Ingram went second-fastest with Colin Turkington (Team BMW) third at the conclusion of the session.

Testing gets back underway from 1400 today, with tomorrow expected to be a little cooler than the 29-degree highs forecast for today, with fans able to follow all the action via TSL's live timings here.