Tom Ingram and Speedworks Motorsport are fast becoming the one lap specialists of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, as the young gun topped both free practice sessions at Oulton Park.
As per his performance earlier this morning, Ingram waited until the closing minutes to produce a qualifying simulation run. Positions changed almost by the second late on and it was Ingram's Toyota that eventually led the way.
"We're where we want to be," says Ingram. "There's a long way to go though. It's very competitive so we'll just have to see what we can do for qualifying."
Halfords Yuasa Racing's Gordon Shedden was the first driver to dip into the 1:25s lap times, before he was nudged down to P2 by Ingram by just 0.065s. The gaps among the top six were similarly close with Shedden edging out Aron Smith's VW by 0.090s, whilst Josh Cook and Jack Goff ensured that five different marques were represented in the front five order. BMW were the only manufacturer to have two cars inside the top six as Sam Tordoff followed his West Surrey Racing team-mate Goff.
Silverline Subaru BMR Racing enjoyed an encouraging session as Jason Plato and Colin Turkington finished seventh and eighth respectively. A series of car upgrades and an important pre-event test suggests the manufacturer-backed team is looking competitive this weekend.
Rookie Ash Sutton was ninth for MG while Handy Motorsport's Rob Austin made a welcome return to the top ten. All 32 cars clocked timed laps although problems for Dan Welch and James Cole slightly curtailed their running.
Qualifying for Round 10 of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship takes place at 15:20 and will be streamed live and exclusively via www.itv.com/btcc. Please make sure you're following the BTCC's official social media feeds for up to the minute news and information.
2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 2 – Oulton Park:
1 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport 1m25.858s
2 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.065s
3 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +0.155s
4 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.232s
5 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +0.283s
6 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.383s
7 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.627s
8 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.662s
9 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.666s
10 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +0.672s
11 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.681s
12 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.801s
13 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +0.935s
14 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +0.971s
15 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.993s
16 Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.997s
17 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.062s
18 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.307s
19 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.354s
20 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +1.425s
21 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com+1.475s
22 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.645s
23 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +1.667s
24 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +1.716s
25 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.855s
26 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC/RCIB Insurance Racing +2.015s
27 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +2.086s
28 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +2.190s
29 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing +2.303s
30 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +2.385s
31 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +2.969s
32 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +3.102s
