Gordon Shedden made it a significant double in the second practice session at Knockhill as the Scotsman fired out a warning ahead of this afternoon’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship qualifying session.

Honda Yuasa Racing’s Shedden became the first and only driver to break the 52 second barrier in either of the practice sessions and now his Civic Type R, which shed some success ballast coming into the event, looks in particularly good shape for the weekend.

“I think there’s still a little more to come from the car too,” he said. “It’s important that we do it when it matters though and that’s in qualifying. It’s going okay but I’m sure the others will find some time too.”

It was another Honda one-two in the second practice session, but maybe not the combination you will have expected as the Independent Eurotech-run Honda Civic of Jeff Smith claimed second. Smith topped FP2 for much of the running but also had to recover from an off-track moment on the very next lap after setting his benchmark.

Despite dropping to second at the finish, Smith was delighted with his progress. “I’m really pleased with that,” he enthused. “I had a bit of a scary moment at the jump after having an off but we won’t dwell on that. The pace is in the car but I actually think there’s more to come from me so that bodes well for this afternoon.”

Smith wasn’t the only driver to return to the track relatively unscathed after a spin as both the Honda of Matt Neal and Ford Focus of Alex Martin also endured moments during the session.

West Surrey Racing again showed well in third, fifth and seventh respectively with championship challenger Sam Tordoff getting the better of his more experienced team-mates Andy Priaulx and Rob Collard.

Mat Jackson and Andrew Jordan proved that they’ll be in the mix again this afternoon with solid top six results in practice, as both the Ford Focus and MG6 look to be running well round the tight, twisty and undulating layout.

Adam Morgan, Jason Plato and Tom Ingram completed the top ten order, but with all three facing different challenges. Morgan again left it late to fire his Mercedes A-Class up the order while Plato’s Team BMR RCIB Insurance squad admits it may not be setting the ultimate pace this weekend. Speedworks again broke into the leading ten with Ingram, but its achilles heel seems to be getting much beyond that. Qualifying will determine whether Ingram can haul his Toyota Avensis into the fight for a top six grid berth.

Free Practice 2

1 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Honda Yuasa Racing
2 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing
3 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) JCT600 Racing with GardX
4 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance
5 Andy PRIAULX (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club
6 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) MG 888 Racing
7 Robert COLLARD (GBR) JCT600 Racing with GardX
8 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing
9 Jason PLATO (GBR) Team BMR RCIB Insurance
10 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport
11 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Exocet AlcoSense
12 Matt NEAL (GBR) Honda Yuasa Racing
13 Josh COOK (GBR) Power Maxed Racing
14 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Exocet AlcoSense
15 Jack GOFF (GBR) MG 888 Racing
16 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMR RCIB Insurance
17 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing
18 James COLE (GBR) Motorbase Performance
19 Aron SMITH (IRL) Team BMR RCIB Insurance
20 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing
21 Mike BUSHELL (GBR) AmD Tuning.com
22 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Team BMR RCIB Insurance
23 Dave NEWSHAM (GBR) Power Maxed Racing
24 Derek PALMER (GBR) Support Our Paras Racing
25 Robb HOLLAND (USA) Handy Motorsport
26 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Welch Motorsport
27 Stewart LINES (GBR) Houseman Racing
28 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing
29 Kieran GALLAGHER (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing

Click here to view the full classification from Free Practice 2