Yorkshireman Dan Cammish gave his home fans something to cheer as the Halfords Yuasa Racing man set a blistering pace in BTCC Free Practice 2 at Croft.
Having played second fiddle to rear-wheel drive machinery in the opening session, the Honda manufacturer duo of Cammish and Neal topped the order for much of final practice. Not only was Cammish's lap time a pace-setter on the day but also some 2.2 seconds faster than the existing qualifying lap record.
The BMW boys showed their hand late on, however, as both Andrew Jordan and Colin Turkington slipped into second and third respectively.
Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance's Sam Tordoff took fourth while the Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall of Jason Plato impressively moved into fifth during the closing minutes.
Neal had to settle for sixth at the finish but the session still represented an encouraging step forward for the Team Dynamics-run Honda Civic Type R Fk8s.
Stephen Jelley (Team Parker Racing), Tom Oliphant (Team BMW) and Ash Sutton (Adrian Flux Subaru Racing) confirmed the ongoing qualities of RWD cars around the newly resurfaced 2.13-mile Croft Circuit, but it does look as though front-wheel drive competitors may have more of a say this time around in North Yorkshire.
Scotsman Rory Butcher rounded out the top ten as the AmD squad's front-running form continues.
A number of drivers endured off-track moments during the session, including the likes of Tordoff and Nic Hamilton, whilst times proved difficult to improve late on as dirt was kicked on to the track at the Sunny In/Sunny Out complex.
Qualifying for Round 10 of the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship takes place at Croft from 15:05 with the session being streamed live and exclusively via www.itv.com/btcc.
2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 2 – Croft Circuit
1 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 1m21.496s
2 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +0.098s
3 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.243s
4 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance +0.256s
5 Jason PLATO (GBR) Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing +0.339s
6 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.344s
7 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +0.469s
8 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +0.508s
9 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.517s
10 Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance +0.602s
11 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +0.747s
12 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport +0.755s
13 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing +0.773s
14 Chris SMILEY (GBR) BTC Racing +0.819s
15 Jake HILL (GBR) TradePriceCars.com +0.909s
16 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.926s
17 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Team Toyota GB with Ginsters +0.961s
18 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.051s
19 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +1.116s
20 Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +1.129s
21 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +1.496s
22 Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +1.559s
23 Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Cataclean Racing with Ciceley Motorsport +1.639s
24 Mark BLUNDELL (GBR) TradePriceCars.com +1.714s
25 Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +1.856s
26 Michael CREES (GBR) GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct +1.923s
27 Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct +2.007s
28 Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Motorbase +2.213s
29 Rob SMITH (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +2.543s
30 Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +2.714s
