Gordon Shedden (Halfords Racing with Cataclean) ended the second and final day of the Goodyear tyre test at Oulton Park on top, with the Scot posting the fastest lap time of the day on the 2.23-mile circuit.

The truncated afternoon session got off to a reasonably dry start, before rainfall saw the field return to the pitlane and attempt to wait out the downpour on two occasions.

Due to the aforementioned mixed weather, a red flag was issued with just half an hour on the clock, by which point Shedden had already set the lap which would put him on top at the conclusion of the session.

Senna Proctor (BTC Racing) was one of a number of drivers to head out during the latter stages as dry weather offered some chance to move up the times, although the greasy track would only reward his efforts with second-fastest.

Completing the top three times during the session was BTCC stalwart Jason Plato (Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing) who also waited out the rain to put in a dry lap time.

Having gone quickest during yesterday's afternoon session, Proctor comes out on top overall, with Shedden's best lap from the opening day putting him into second over the two-day test.

Final classification of the full test can be seen here and a full report will follow on www.btcc.net.

MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square ace Jake Hill went fastest during a wet morning session today (7 July) as the second day of the Goodyear tyre test got underway at Oulton Park.

Rory Butcher (Toyota Gazoo Racing UK) took second on the timesheets ahead of Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing's Dan Lloyd, with the Scot having hit the summit early on before Hill pipped him by little over two-tenths of a second just before the halfway mark.

“A really good morning, with lots learned,” said Hill. “We tried lots of different things and obviously the rain was stopping and coming again. Ultimately we seemed to get the better of everyone and stuck a good time in there in FP1.

“Yesterday was really good, too. The one area I think we’ve struggled with so far this year is the soft tyre, so yesterday we spent all our dry running just on that. Trying to understand it and gain more information about this car and how it needs to work with it. We ended up fifth overall but that was with the soft tyre and just trying to understand it to be honest, doing race runs and that sort of thing. Overall it was a great day and we learnt an awful lot that hopefully will work when carried forward throughout the rest of the year.”

Local challenger Tom Oliphant (Team BMW) who was the first of the 23 drivers to hit the track initially held the fastest lap time but would settle for fourth by the end of the session.

Jason Plato joined his PMR team-mate in the top ten with sixth-fastest, while the Manufacturer-backed BMW of Stephen Jelley and Toyota of Sam Smelt took the seventh and eighth spots respectively.

The closest lap times came from BTCC Champions Ash Sutton (Laser Tools Racing) and Colin Turkington (Team BMW) in ninth and tenth, as the rivals were separated by just two-thousandths of a second.

Andrew Jordan pressed on in the TOCA Hybrid Toyota Corolla during the session, clocking an impressive 54 laps as the Cosworth-run machine continues its testing and development programme throughout the two-day event.

With the potential of more rain on the horizon later this afternoon, the next session – which takes place between 1330-1655 – will no doubt see a number of drivers aim to head out early and get some dry running under their belts on the 2.23-mile circuit.

Click here for the full result from today's Goodyear tyre test morning session at Oulton Park.

BTC Racing man Senna Proctor drove his Honda Civic Type R to the top today (6 July) at Oulton Park, as the 22-year-old recorded the fastest lap time of the opening day of the two-day Goodyear tyre test.

“Today was a good day,” said Proctor. “We got a lot of testing with the car under our belts this afternoon in the dry, and it was nice for me to have a few proper runs in the car without being under the pressure of a race weekend. We got some good laps under our belt and then tried some dramatic setup changes. We found a lot of pace in the car and got it more towards my liking with a few little changes I wanted, so that was definitely a step forward. Hopefully, we get another dry day tomorrow and we can progress further, maybe do a few more race runs and go from there.

“Tomorrow is really about fine-tuning what we’ve learnt today. We threw some quite drastic setup changes on the car, so now it’s a case of picking the bones out of it tonight and fine-tuning the little bits that we found. Hopefully get a little bit of wet testing as well to make sure I’m used to the car in the wet and then we can progress the wet setup up to my liking as well.”

Halfords Racing with Cataclean pair Gordon Shedden and Daniel Rowbottom went second and third-fastest, the duo having recently bagged the same finishing positions during Brands Hatch's opening race just under two weeks ago.

Jack Goff (Team HARD. with Autobrite Direct) and Jake Hill (MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square) completed the top five, while the Hyundai of Chris Smiley (Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com) went the sixth-fastest.

Hill went to the summit of the timings initially although, as the track continued to dry out, lap times began to decrease and all of the top five drivers graced the spot before Proctor sealed the deal with just over 20 minutes left on the clock.

Proceedings came to a short halt just before the two-hour mark as the Hyundai of Tom Ingram (Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com) was recovered following a mechanical failure.

Ingram, who had topped the times during the wet morning stint, ended his session with only six laps on the board and consequently went 24th-fastest overall due to the afternoon’s drier, quicker track.

Tomorrow’s second day of running kicks off once again from 0900-1230, while the afternoon session between 1330-1655 will draw this year’s official Goodyear tyre test to a close.

Click here for the final classification from the opening day of testing at Oulton Park.

Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com’s Tom Ingram recorded the fastest lap of this morning’s session as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship's two-day Goodyear tyre test kicked off at a damp and drizzly Oulton Park.

Jake Hill (MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square) topped the timesheets during the earlier stages before Ingram pipped the Ford Focus by 0.088s and held the top spot for the remainder of the morning, while Gordon Shedden (Halfords Racing with Cataclean) went third-fastest in the #52 Honda Civic Type R.

“Oulton is actually a circuit that I really enjoy driving around but I’ve not had really good results round here over the last seven years," said Ingram. "It’s one of the only places that I haven’t had a proper crack at getting a podium, race wins or anything. So it’s a circuit I’ve got a bit of work to do.

"Set up-wise, it was nice to come in, the first time I’ve driven the car around here, and actually see it’s in a really nice place already. Spencer and I have been tweaking away over the course of the morning and actually found a car that’s really nice to drive and really rewarding. So from that point of view, it’s good. Also with the weight that we’re carrying, 66kg [of success ballast], so we knew it's going to make it feel slower.

“If we can be quick in the wet hopefully we can be just as quick in the dry as well. Fingers crossed we’ll have dry running this afternoon and we can compare it to the wet and see where we are really. But who knows, I enjoy driving in the wet and I know I can slightly overturn the disadvantages we have with the weight, but we shall see!”

Rory Butcher (Toyota Gazoo Racing UK), Chris Smiley (Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.om) and Jack Goff (Team HARD. with Autrobrite Direct) completed the top six.

The MB Motorsport-run Ford of Ollie Jackson took seventh-fastest ahead of four-time BTCC Champion Colin Turkington (Team BMW), as Sam Osborne (Racing with Wera & Photon Group) and the manufacturer-backed Toyota Corolla of Sam Smelt took ninth and tenth on the timesheets respectively.

A total of 24 of the 30 drivers – including BTCC Champion Andrew Jordan manning the TOCA Hybrid machine – headed out during the session, with over 500 laps of the 2.23-mile circuit completed.

As the rain persisted and with a drier afternoon on the cards, the morning session would come to an early conclusion, in order to give the opportunity for more dry running later on today, with the action now due to get back underway from 1300.

Click here for the full result from this morning's session during the opening day of testing at Oulton Park.

2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship runner James Gornall makes his return to BTCC machinery today (6th July), as the former Mini Challenge UK Champion joins the squad in its fourth CUPRA Leon for the two-day Goodyear tyre test at Oulton Park.

Gornall, who made his series debut just last year, scored 18 points and a best finish of seventh during the 18 rounds he contested, before taking the difficult decision to stand down from his seat in Britain’s premier motorsport series.

“I’m excited to try the new CUPRA around Oulton Park this week,” said Gornall. “The car is going from strength to strength and, having spent ten months out of a BTCC car, I can’t wait to jump back in and help the team’s development of the machine.”

Tony Gilham, Managing Director at Team HARD. Racing added “It’s great to have James join us for this seasons Goodyear tyre test at Oulton Park,” added the squad’s Managing Director, Tony Gilham. “He is a reliable and safe yet fast pair of hands. His experience in motorsport is only going to help our development of the new CUPRA Leon.

“He was very impressive last season and held his own against a teammate who was vastly more experienced in this category so I have no doubt that after the morning is spent shaking off a few cobwebs, James will be right there with the rest of the team. We have a very detailed testing programme for James to execute over the next couple of days, so I am looking forward to seeing not only himself but also the car's progression.

“The team is really on a high at the moment after a strong showing at Brands Hatch and we are all excited to continue developing the car. James is a great personality and I know he is going to fit into the team straight away.”

Today marks the first day of the BTCC's annual two-day, mid-season Goodyear tyre test at Oulton Park, which sees all the 2021 entries run through various testing programmes as they look to start the second half of the campaign on the front foot.

Follow all the action from Oulton Park via TSL's live timings available here.

Tom Oliphant stormed to his first victory of the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship last month at Brands Hatch, strengthening BMW’s position at the top of the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ standings and enhancing his own title aspirations as Britain's premier motorsport series begins its annual summer break.

The Leamington Spa-based driver’s opening-race win, which was the second of his BTCC career, was also the second of the season for the WSR-designed, built and run Team BMW 330i M Sport.

Having qualified fourth, Oliphant started brilliantly to lead into the first corner – an advantage he would not relinquish for the 24-lap duration. Building a three-second cushion in the opening laps, he controlled the race to the chequered flag.

He would almost repeat the feat in race two, leading from pole position until the last lap, when the Hyundai of Tom Ingram squeezed past and a storming Ash Sutton took second from the BMW man in the final moments, dropping him to third at the line.

Starting from tenth on the partially reversed grid, he finished 15th for the third and final race of the day – a result that saw him become the weekend’s top scorer with 38 points and moved him up to sixth in the Drivers’ Championship.

Team-mate Colin Turkington salvaged two points from a trying weekend, the Northern Irishman never being able to break out of the midfield.

Having qualified 14th, the four-time BTCC Champion made progress in race one before contact from a rival dropped him down the order to 20th at the finish.

He climbed to 17th in race two and improved again in race three to finish 14th, a result that leaves him fourth in the Drivers’ standings.

Having come into race day with hopes of a strong result, given his previous form around the 1.2-mile Brands Hatch Indy circuit, Stephen Jelley was left disappointed after a start-line infringement – and the consequent five-second penalty – dropped him from ninth on the road to 15th in the race one result.

After contact in race two resulted in his retirement, the Leicester racer fought through the pack during race three, overtaking seven cars to take 22nd at the chequered flag.

Team BMW, now third in the Teams’ standings, has just under four weeks to work on the cars before the next rounds at Oulton Park, where the squad aims to score the one race win it needs to reach a magic BTCC 100 victories.

“It was a fantastic day,” said Oliphant. “Getting the start in race one kind of made up for missing out on pole. I really enjoyed that race, claiming my second BTCC win and my first of the season. In race two, I drove the wheels off the BMW and got a bit unlucky on the last lap, but I’m really pleased to come away with third and more solid points.

“Race three was a very different being all the way back in tenth. I really didn’t have the best first lap and it just kind of went away from me. The car balance following people wasn’t quite what it was when I was in the lead. I did what I could, but at the end of the day, the difference between 12th and 15th is three points so it wasn’t worth taking an unnecessary risk. I just finished the race in the points and now I really look forward to going to Oulton Park. We’re sixth in the championship and it’s a track that suits us. This is just what I needed to get my title fight back on track.”

“It’s been a tough day for me,” reflected Turkington. “It was difficult to qualify well with the weight in the car, given such a competitive field, so we were on the back foot. The car slowly improved but it was very difficult to make my way through the pack when I wasn’t significantly quicker than anybody.

“We scraped a few points at the end, but I paid the price for my success at Snetterton. We were trying to go forward all day, the last race was my best, and the BMW was most competitive then. I took two points home, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying. Hopefully, it swings back at Oulton, and we score some good points.”

“It wasn’t what I wanted this weekend,” admitted Jelley. “I got a five-second penalty for the start in race one, which pushed me down the field. Without that, I think I’d been in and around the top ten all day. I got a good run on the car in front in race two and went for the gap, but he kept moving across the racetrack, so I went on the grass… It’s one of those things, it’s so hard to overtake around here that if you get the opportunity you’ve got to take it. 

"In race three the pace difference from first to 21st was about four-tenths of a second, so it’s so easy for someone to park themselves on the inside line and just not let you by. We have to have a think now and improve things for Oulton Park.”

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will hit the track for a two-day Goodyear tyre test at Oulton Park this week (6/7 July), before the serious competition resumes at the same venue at the end of the month.

A full BTCC line-up is expected on track at the Cheshire circuit during the test, with this year’s mid-summer break coming after just three of the scheduled ten race weekends.

Reigning champion and current standings leader Ash Sutton (Laser Tools Racing) will arguably top the bill during the two-day run and is due to be joined by three former champions in the shape of Colin Turkington (Team BMW), Gordon Shedden (Halfords Racing with Cataclean) and Jason Plato (Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing).

Tom Ingram (Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com) – fresh from his victories at Snetterton and Brands Hatch respectively – will be looking to continue with the ongoing development of the Hyundai i30N, with all of the BTCC teams highlighting the test as pivotal in their plans for the year ahead.

It is of course an important process for official tyre supplier Goodyear too, as they assess and compare compounds around the 2.23-mile circuit.

Other drivers buoyed by recent results will be Adam Morgan (Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport), Jack Goff (Team HARD. with Autobrite Direct) and Aiden Moffat (Laser Tools Racing), with the trio having occupied the podium in the most recent race at Brands Hatch.

There will be a 30th car on track too as the TOCA Hybrid Toyota Corolla continues its extensive test and development programme ahead of its 2022 introduction to the BTCC.

The championship's official media staff will be in attendance, as will TSL Timing – providing live timing for the two full days of action. Keep up to date with all the news and information via www.btcc.net and the official BTCC social media channels.

Jack Goff enjoyed a strong weekend in Kent during the latest stop on the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship calendar, as the 30-year-old not only continued his run of top 15 finishes, but bagged the first-ever BTCC podium for the new-for-2021 Cupra Leon.

Having qualified 11th during an extremely close session, Goff broke into the top ten for round seven after a race-long battle with Josh Cook and Dan Lloyd.

Following it up with an 11th-place finish in race two, the reverse grid draw saw him begin the final race of the day from second spot.

Race three saw a strong start, as the #31 machine fended off the pursuing Infiniti of Aiden Moffat. When Jason Plato began an attack on the Scot for third, Goff was able to edge away and move towards leader Adam Morgan. Ultimately, the gap proved too much for the Cupra man to catch up to, and a second-place finish rewarded the High Wycombe racer's gritty drive.

The result marked the first-ever BTCC podium for the Cupra, as well as the squad's first visit to the rostrum since Goff's popular Silverstone win in 2019.

Heading into the summer break, Goff's consistent points-hauls result in him holding top ten and top five positions in the Drivers' and Independent Drivers' Standings respectively.

“Another solid day," said Goff. "It’s nice to continue our points-scoring run and a podium was payback for all the hard work that the boys and girls at the team have put in over the winter. Hopefully, this is just the start. We are chipping away at it, and we know where our weaknesses are which we are going to focus on at the Goodyear tyre test. If we can cure those, I think we will be challenging for podiums a lot more in the near future.”

Check out Louise Goodman's post-race interview with a delighted Goff below:

Halfords Racing with Cataclean celebrated another front-running weekend at Brands Hatch, with a maiden pole position and podium finish for Dan Rowbottom and second place in race one for team-mate Gordon Shedden.

A stunning effort from the pair during Saturday's 30-minute qualifying session was rewarded with a front row lock-out for race one, with Rowbottom clinching pole by just five-thousandths of a second.

While the #32 machine bogged down off the line, Shedden powered ahead, although both Team Dynamics-run Honda Civic Type Rs would lose out to the fast-starting BMW of Tom Oliphant who assumed the lead.

Despite dropping to seventh during the opening lap, Rowbottom fought back through the pack ahead, claiming third place on lap ten and holding the position for the remainder of the race to take his first-ever BTCC podium.

Shedden's race saw him lose ground to the Infiniti of Aiden Moffat in the battle for second, before he took the spot on the fifth tour of the 1.2-mile circuit. Setting his sights on leader Oliphant, Shedden worked his way up to the BMW's tail but the gap proved too large and the Scot had to settle for second.

Race two saw contact drop Shedden down the order, as he brought his damaged Honda home in 21st.

Rowbottom, who was initially battling with race one winner Oliphant for the lead, lost ground after running wide at Druids and dropped back to fourth, where he would remain until the conclusion of the encounter.

Starting ninth on the grid for race three, with Shedden 21st, Rowbottom battled home to 11th place with Shedden taking 16th and just missing out on points.

“I was over the moon on Saturday night with my first pole," said Rowbottom. "It means so much to me and my sponsors Cataclean. I must admit I was a little bit nervous going to the grid in race one and didn’t make the best of starts, but I knew the car I had under me and gradually started moving up through the pack to finish on the podium. Then I think I was a little too eager to get past Oliphant early on in race two and that cost me places, but I was happy with fourth in the end.

"Race three was tough with the weight but the car was good all weekend, I have learnt a lot, taken my first pole and first podium and extended my Jack Sears Trophy lead, so I can’t complain too much! We now have our summer break, so I’m going to take that time out with the family, regroup and then it'll be full focus on Oulton Park.”

“The weekend started so well for us, but I was disappointed not to win [in race one]," said Shedden. "My car felt really good but I just couldn't get going soon enough. Then contact early on in race two forced me into the gravel and then your day is pretty much done, especially around this tight and twisty circuit.

"The car felt awesome again, so I am really frustrated to go away with just the one podium. I think one more lap in race one and I could have overtaken Oliphant for the top step, but that’s racing! Onwards and upwards now to Oulton Park in a few weeks’ time, I’ve got a chance to rest and recover now, recharge the batteries and be ready to fight come the next round.”

The EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com team continued its rich vein of form in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship with a second win in as many meetings at Brands Hatch.

The Suffolk-based team headed for the Kent circuit on the back of a breakthrough success at Snetterton two weeks earlier, with drivers Tom Ingram, Chris Smiley, Jack Butel and Rick Parfitt all confident about their chances on track.

Ingram and Smiley both managed to qualify inside the top ten for the opening race and would line up in sixth and eighth on the grid, with Parfitt setting his fastest time of the weekend to take 25th place, two spots ahead of Butel.

A fine start to the opening race saw Ingram immediately jump up into the top three when the lights went out, but a tap from the Honda of Gordon Shedden at Clearways then unsettled the Hyundai and saw him shuffled back down to sixth spot.

Briefly slipping back to seventh as a result of the extra weight on the car, Ingram was part of a train of cars that managed to fight ahead of Aiden Moffat mid-way through the race as he crossed the line in sixth spot, with Smiley following him home in seventh.

A storming start to race two saw Ingram rocket up into third place when the lights went out, and he would shadow the Honda of Dan Rowbottom in the first half of the race before losing a spot to Jake Hill’s Ford.

When Hill then went off with a puncture, Ingram wasted little time in fighting his way ahead of Rowbottom into second spot and chased down leader Tom Oliphant, launching his bid for the position going into the final lap.

Putting his car up the inside, the #80 car slipped through into the lead and wrapped up a second win in as many meetings to also take the championship lead.

As in the opening race, Smiley was able to also run strongly inside the top ten throughout as he repeated his race one result, whilst Butel crossed the line on the fringes of the top 20 although an unfortunate penalty saw him demoted to 25th place in the end results, which left him two spots behind Parfitt.

The reverse grid race saw solid finishes for the quartet with Smiley ending the weekend with a third top ten finish, whilst Ingram, Butel and Parfitt were 12^th, 21^st, 26^th.

At the end of the weekend, Ingram sits second in the overall standings and the Independents’ standings, whilst Butel holds fourth in the Jack Sears Trophy for drivers without an overall podium finish.

Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com also heads the Independent Teams’ standings ahead of round four at Oulton Park in late July, with a two-day test at the circuit being scheduled for early next month.

Chris Smiley, #22 Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:

"We’ve been right there in the top ten all through race day and kept our nose clean. Thankfully we’ve avoided any drama, and come away from the weekend with some good points on the board."

Rick Parfitt, #62 EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:

"We’ve made a massive leap forwards this week in terms of how I understand the car and I just need to do better in qualifying. When you’re near the back, it’s hard to make up places as everyone is so close but my race pace today has been strong.”

Tom Ingram, #80 Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:

"I think it’s been a really positive weekend for us again.

"Tom [Oliphant] only really gave me one chance to get ahead and I didn’t need a second one when he left the largest gap in the world; there was no second invitation required when we were going for a win. To get another victory for the team is fantastic, and having picked up more points in race three, it’s still nice and close in the standings heading to Oulton Park."

Jack Butel, #96 EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:

"We made up places in race one which was a good start and then in race two, I was delighted with the pace we showed when you compared it to the guys at the front.

"The penalty set us back a bit again for race three but again I was able to pick people off in front so I think I can take a huge amount away from this weekend. I don’t think it will be long until we are able to bring home a points finish."