Free Practice One at Snetterton turned out to be a battle between the ballast-free Subaru of Colin Turkington and the championship leading BMW of Sam Tordoff, with the former pulling away from the chasing pack in the closing stages.

Turkington topped the times with just over 15 minutes to go, which initially left him less than a tenth ahead of Tordoff, but the Subaru Levorg stretched its legs even further in the closing moments to set a stunning lap time. A 1:56.547s is still half a second shy of the qualifying lap record but Turkington put everyone else in the shade, with Tordoff 0.494s off the ultimate pace.

Adam Morgan's Mercedes led the way early on as MG, Ford, BMW and Subaru made it five marques in the top five places shortly after mid-distance. Ashley Sutton, Andrew Jordan and Morgan remained quick throughout with the trio taking third through to fifth in the times at the finish.

Aron Smith – whose VW produced the fastest straight line speed during the session – ended up sixth. The Irishman is chasing his first win of the season, and the Team BKR driver stands a good chance of doing so this weekend.

Josh Cook made it two MG's in the top seven, whilst Tom Ingram followed next down in the order. Speedworks Motorsport's Ingram has already claimed two pole positions in 2016 and was the Snetterton pace-setter during summer testing earlier this month, so he'll likely be a contender this afternoon.

Mat Jackson and James Cole completed the top ten with the former bouncing back from early session engine problems in his Motorbase Ford Focus.

The two Hondas left it late – only setting times in the closing minutes – as Matt Neal eventually pipped team-mate Gordon Shedden to 11th.

Other things of note included Rob Collard's BMW suffering from steering issues, whilst Dan Welch's Proton failed to join the action. Michael Caine completed 14 laps in the Team HARD-run Toyota on his return to the series.

Free Practice Two takes place at 12:05, before the all-important qualifying session commences at 15:50 which can be streamed live via www.itv.com/btcc.

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 1 – Snetterton:

1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing 1m56.547s
2 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.494s
3 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.584s
4 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.632s
5 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +0.702s
6 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +0.732s
7 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.924s
8 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +0.983s
9 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +1.020s
10 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.077s
11 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.107s
12 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.124s
13 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +1.136s
14 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.145s
15 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +1.263s
16 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.289s
17 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.379s
18 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +1.394s
19 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +1.510s
20 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.515s
21 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.557s
22 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com+1.764s
23 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +1.823s
24 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.928s
25 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.983s
26 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +2.247s
27 Michael CAINE (GBR) TLC/RCIB Insurance Racing +2.272s
28 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +2.414s
29 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +4.197s
30 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +5.005s

Jason Plato has amassed 14 BTCC victories at Snetterton – treble that of his nearest rival – and now he’s looking to add his name to a record-breaking number of race winners so far in 2016.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship blasts back into action at the Norfolk venue this weekend, with Plato hoping to join the victory party for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing.

“I feel like it’s close, but we’re not losing too much sleep over it,” said Plato. “Things just haven’t quite gone my way so far this year. I haven’t had the same fortunes as others, and if things had gone differently at say Croft for example we’d have already had one win and it probably should have been two.

“Qualifying and race one will be critical for our chances here. The technical sections at Snetterton should suit us, but then it’s also a power circuit and we were miles off during the test.

“I want to win of course, but in truth this is a multi-year deal with Subaru and our primary focus is developing the car throughout 2016 to ensure we come storming out of the blocks next season. We definitely need to make sure we’re ready to rock and roll then, but if things go our way this weekend then we might just have a squeak this season…”

During the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship's six-week summer hiatus, Motorbase Performance has been hard at work on its Ford Focus STs at the squad's Wrotham workshop as they look to push on at the head of the Independent's table.

The team was in action at Snetterton for Dunlop’s official BTCC tyre test with Mat Jackson one of four drivers running a full data-gathering programme to assist the championship's title sponsor with its 2017 tyre compound developments.

At Croft, Motorbase notched five top-ten finishes and five Independent podiums with Jordan enjoying a successful weekend that saw him increase his lead to 27 points at the top of the Independent Driver standings.

A last-race gamble on slicks unfortunately resulted in a DNF for Jackson, incredibly his first since Croft 2013.

“After a busy break we're now ready to embark on the second half of the season,” said Team Manager Oly Collins.

“We've had a busy few weeks since Croft with a great weekend at Goodwood Festival of Speed with Andrew (Jordan) winning the BTCC shootout followed by a good two day test at Snetterton.

"All of this, around a variety of work back at base, means that we haven’t really stopped. Hopefully the hard work will stand us in good stead for the remaining rounds.”

The squad heads to Norfolk in good standing with a 55-point lead at the top of the Independent Teams’ Championship and in third place in the overall standings.

“Given the level of competition in the BTCC this season it’s great to be leading the Independents standings at the halfway point;” added Collins.

“We want to be at the top and that is still our aim this year. It’s unbelievably tight at every circuit we visit and harder than ever to get a win – that’s why it’s so rewarding when you do.”

The circuit will hold a special place in the team’s history with Sunday’s opening race marking its 300^th BTCC race as well as the anniversary of the unveiling of the first Motorbase in-house-built touring car back in 2012.

Rounds 16, 17 & 18 of the 2016 BTCC season take place at Snetterton circuit on 30/31 July.  Live coverage of Sunday's events will be shown on ITV4, itv.com and also in HD from 10:30 – 18:00; with itv.com featuring live streaming online of Saturday's qualifying session between 15:50 – 16:20.

Series organisers have issued the following Championship Bulletin in relation to Eurotech Racing's Car No. 23 and its loaned TOCA BTCC licence (TBL):

'The Administrator has agreed to the withdrawal from the remainder of the 2016 Championship of Car No. 23 (Daniel Lloyd, Eurotech Racing) and has subsequently recalled the loan TBL associated with that entry.'

Hairpin to be rechristened ‘Wilson’ from this weekend’s BTCC meeting

Snetterton’s Montreal hairpin will be renamed in honour of Justin Wilson, starting from this weekend’s (30/31 July) round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. Wilson, who was tragically killed in an IndyCar race last August, was a protégé of circuit owner MSV’s Chief Executive, Jonathan Palmer, who guided him through much of his junior single-seater career towards Formula One.

Palmer and Wilson’s association dates back to the fiercely competitive inaugural Formula Palmer Audi Championship in 1998, a season which yielded a first major car racing crown for Justin. Success in that championship earned Justin a full season in the International Formula 3000 Championship, just one rung on the ladder below Grand Prix racing at the time, and the title followed three years later in 2001.

Justin and Jonathan maintained a close working relationship throughout this period, culminating with the creation of Justin Wilson PLC, an innovative, publically-funded scheme, which paved the way for Justin to graduate to F1 with Minardi. Whilst the F1 dream didn’t pan out perfectly, Justin and Jonathan maintained a close friendship as the Yorkshire driver developed a fantastic reputation as one of the leading single-seater drivers in America until his untimely death in 2015.

Appropriately, the Wilson hairpin leads into Palmer corner on the 300 circuit which will be used this weekend – aptly, Sunday’s three BTCC races will take place on what would have been Justin’s 38th birthday.

A special corner board featuring Justin’s iconic rainbow-coloured helmet design, in addition to the Wilson name, has been installed in time for the BTCC event. This special tribute was unveiled today (Monday) at a ceremony attended by Jonathan and Justin’s parents, Keith and Lynne, ahead of the corner’s official relaunch this weekend.

Jonathan Palmer commented: “Justin Wilson, the champion of my inaugural Formula Palmer Audi championship, thoroughly deserved the support which that success brought him, and it was enormously satisfying to watch him make the best possible use of every opportunity he had through to F1 and IndyCar racing. But not only was Justin an outstanding racing driver, he was also the epitome of a true sportsman, earning universal respect and admiration. He leaves a lasting legacy that we will cherish and perpetuate, with the naming of Wilson corner at Snetterton an important part of that.”

Justin’s younger brother Stefan, who raced at the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the year in tribute to his elder sibling, said: "This is such an incredible gesture by MSV and I know Justin would be very honoured and humbled to learn that he has a corner here at Snetterton named after him. Snetterton has a special place in our memories as our dad raced here back in the ‘60s and he would tell us stories of racing down the old Norwich straight. Plus, Justin and I raced here many times in our own careers!"

Keith Wilson added: "We cannot thank Jonathan and Lisa Davis (MSV’s General Manager) enough for all their support for Justin and our whole family stretching right back as far as the inaugural Formula Palmer Audi race in 1998. They have played a huge part in all of our lives and as Stefan says Justin would be so honoured to have this corner named after him. Snetterton is a great circuit steeped in history and after having new life injected into it by Jonathan its life should extend for further generations allowing Justin's corner to rekindle his association with Snetterton and Jonathan.”

Wilson corner will be used for the first time during the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship this weekend on 30/31 July. For more information, please visit www.snetterton.co.uk.

Get all ten of this season's Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship winners so far in these complete Perfect Ten wallpapers:

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The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship returns from its mid-season break with a trip to Norfolk's Snetterton circuit next weekend (30/31 July), having seen a greater number of different winners in the first half of the campaign than ever before.