Halfords Yuasa Racing's Matt Neal set the pace during a rather frenetic 40-minute free practice two at Oulton Park.
Several rain showers punctuated proceedings with heavy cloud and sun also making the odd appearance. It was Neal that made the best of the conditions, as the Honda man clocked a 1:37.051s benchmark on a wet track.
"The Honda Civic Type R feels good in these changeable conditions, so hopefully we'll be in the mix for qualifying this afternoon," said Neal.
Reigning champion Gordon Shedden looked to be on course to pip team-mate Neal late on, but a high speed off at Druids ended his hopes whilst the Scotsman was on a real flyer.
"We had a problem with the steering wheel initially," said Shedden. "The circuit conditions were changing every lap. It's always challenging to get a feel when it's like that, as you just don't know what the next corner will bring."
That left second place to James Cole, who had previously led the session in his Subaru Levorg.
"This is like home to me," he said. "If I could do it anywhere I would want it to be here as this is where it all began. I first sat in a racing car at Oulton Park ten years or so ago, so it would be great if we could show our true potential this weekend."
Team BMW locked out third and fourth on the timesheets as Colin Turkington edged out team-mate Rob Collard, whilst Ash Sutton further showed Adrian Flux Subaru Racing's potential with fifth place.
A sixth place for Daniel Lloyd will come as a welcome boost for everyone at MG Racing RCIB Insurance while Josh Cook backed-up his top five pace in FP1 with a seventh place in the final practice session.
Former champions Andrew Jordan and Jason Plato were next in the order, with Eurotech Racing's Jeff Smith completing the top ten.
2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 2 – Oulton Park
1 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 1m37.051s (82.57mph)
2 James COLE (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.249s
3 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.256s
4 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Team BMW +0.331s
5 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.398s
6 Daniel LLOYD (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.402s
7 Josh COOK (GBR) Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport +0.404s
8 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +0.419s
9 Jason PLATO (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.616s
10 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.656s
11 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +0.733s
12 Jack GOFF (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.738s
13 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +0.785s
14 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +0.797s
15 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport +0.826s
16 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +0.875s
17 Dave NEWSHAM (GBR) BTC Norlin Racing +0.947s
18 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.949s
19 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmDtuning.com with Cobra Exhausts +0.961s
20 Chris SMILEY (GBR) BTC Norlin Racing +0.971s
21 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.111s
22 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +1.151s
23 Michael EPPS (GBR) Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing +1.199s
24 Aron TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +1.251s
25 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +1.318s
26 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Ciceley Motorsport +1.351s
27 Jake HILL (GBR) TAG Racing +1.422s
28 Will BURNS (GBR) Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing +1.598s
29 Josh PRICE (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +1.850s
30 Luke DAVENPORT (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +1.853s
31 Ant WHORTON-EALES (GBR) AmDtuning.com with Cobra Exhausts +1.967s
32 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +2.524s
