Halfords Yuasa Racing took an impressive one-two in the final BTCC race at Donington Park as Matt Neal became the sixth different winner from the six races contested so far this season.

Sam Tordoff maintained the lead from pole position and was joined by his West Surrey Racing team-mate Jack Goff on lap two as he slipped by Neal at the Esses. While the WSR duo initially scampered off into the sunset, both cars had to manage their Dunlop SportMaxx soft tyres for the duration of the contest.

Gordon Shedden's Honda Civic Type R was busy making a way through to fourth place as he then joined Neal in hounding down the BMWs.

It proved to be a race of two halves as the harder compound runners showed greater performance in the second period of the encounter.

Neal sliced past Goff at the Old Hairpin on lap ten and Shedden followed suit at Redgate on the following lap.

Although Tordoff desperately tried to look after his tyres it became clear he was helpless to stop the Honda charge. Neal's Civic Type R took eight tenths of a second out of the the Team JCT600 with GardX BMW on lap 13 and he was through one lap later after making a textbook move at McLeans - one of the triple champion's favourite hunting grounds.

Shedden produced a similar move on Tordoff, as he done to Goff at Redgate, and the Hondas were suddenly holding a comfortable one-two. Both streaked clear to take the chequered flag in unison and the BMWs of Tordoff and Rob Collard followed suit in third and fourth, with the latter also benefitting from the consistent performance of the hard tyre.

Similar battles played out up and down the order as the likes of Mat Jackson and Josh Cook produced strong openings on the soft compound, before spending the second half of the race falling down the order.

MG's Ashley Sutton stormed through to take fifth ahead of the fading Goff, whilst Aiden Moffat took an impressive seventh, and with it the Independents' win for Laser Tools Racing.

Rob Austin also showed his hand late to steal eighth in his Toyota Avensis, from Cook and the Pirtek-backed Ford of Andrew Jordan. Martin Depper won a pulsating battle to take 11th from Hunter Abbott by just 0.014s.

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 6 – Donington Park

1 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 19m 08.350s
2 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.222s
3 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +2.690s
4 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +2.908s
5 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +4.142s
6 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +9.245s
7 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +9.379s
8 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +13.028s
9 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +17.535s
10 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +18.146s
11 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +18.275s
12 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +18.289s
13 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +18.902s
14 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +19.572s
15 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +24.260s
16 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +24.796s
17 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC Racing +24.993s
18 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +25.204s
19 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +25.434s
20 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +28.111s
21 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +31.428s
22 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +34.259s
23 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +38.970s
24 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing +40.487s
25 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +2 laps
26 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com 4 laps
27 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +11 laps
28 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +12 laps
29 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +14 laps
30 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +15 laps
31 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing DNS

Rob Collard became the fifth different winner from the opening five races of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after making a late move for victory in the second contest at Donington Park.

BMW joins Toyota, Honda, Mercedes and Ford in the BTCC winners circle so far this season, but that possibility looked some way off with West Surrey Racing's Collard starting from sixth on the grid.

The Team JCT600 with GardX driver blasted up to third on the first lap, but he had to wait until lap 12 to make further ground as Tom Ingram defended valiantly. Collard passed the Toyota Avensis with a tidy move at the final chicane and he immediately set about hunting down Mat Jackson's Ford Focus, which had led from the start.

Collard eventually hauled in the ballast-laden Focus and the two cars ran side-by-side on the exit of Coppice in the closing stage, with Jackson having to concede going into the Esses.

"I had to work hard for that in the opening laps," enthused Collard after the contest. "The key was the first lap when I made the jump from sixth up to Tom (Ingram) in third. It all paid of. Once we were in third, it was game on with Mat Jackson starting to struggle a bit as the race headed towards the finish.

"The car is feeling so sharp at the moment it was really good – I’m really pleased with it. We’ve stuck with the BMW and it’s the best it’s been since the 3 Series days. We left Brands with a bit of a cloud after race two and I’m pleased we were able to come here and prove to everyone we’re winners. There were some good moves in there and I’m proud I can still perform like that."

Race one winner held on to take second while a sensational scrap ensued behind him for the final podium position.

"Rob (Collard) was coming through," reflected Jackson. "The BMW was on fire off the corners and I just couldn’t live with him. It would have been daft to hold him back really. The ballast, especially on the front wheel drive, isn’t good and we just had to manage it really and be pragmatic – it’s a long championship."

Four cars almost ran alongside eachother at one stage in the aforementioned scrap for third, as Sam Tordoff's BMW bounced across the gravel, before his WSR team-mate Jack Goff tapped Ingram's Toyota on the exit of the chicane. Tordoff lost out slightly while Ingram dropped way down the order, and when the dust finally settled it was Aron Smith who snatched third for BKR.

"It’s a good, I’m really happy," said Aron. "It was a hard one though. I earned that more than I did the podium at Brands. The racing was good and everyone was clean and fair.

"I was in the right place at the right time at the chicane when a couple came together down there, it was a bit of luck. It was a race where I could have ended up in the barrier a couple of times on a different day but I didn’t."

Honda's Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal sandwiched Goff's BMW in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively, whilst Josh Cook scored some valuable points MG with seventh, despite both him and team-mate Ashley Sutton again being shuffled down the order.

Tordoff took eighth but will have been consoled following the race as his number was picked at random in the reverse grid draw, meaning he will start today's final encounter from pole position. Laser Tools Racing's Aiden Moffat got the better of Rob Austin's Toyota and the sister Mercedes of Adam Morgan to grab ninth.

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 5 – Donington Park

1 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX 25m 07.394s
2 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +1.670
3 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +3.307
4 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +3.429s
5 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +4.939s
6 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +5.547s
7 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +9.967s
8 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +10.311s
9 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +11.124s
10 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +11.378s
11 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +12.609s
12 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +13.358s
13 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +20.040s
14 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +20.315s
15 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +20.433s
16 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +20.856s
17 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +24.166s
18 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +25.205s
19 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing+25.739s
20 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +26.730s
21 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC Racing +27.223s
22 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +31.188s
23 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +37.866s
24 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +38.505s
25 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +40.159s
26 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing DNF
27 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing DNF
28 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing DNF
29 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com DNF
30 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing DNF
31 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing DNS

 

 

Talented young driver Daniel Lloyd has signed for Eurotech Racing and will join the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship from the Thruxton weekend onwards.

Lloyd is no stranger to the BTCC paddock having been a two-time race winner in the Porsche Carerra Cup GB back in 2012 and 2013. The Yorkshireman has since gone on to race in a number of GT championships, including the Blancpain Endurance Series, British GT and United Sports Car Championship.

Following the news that Andy Neate and Halfords Yuasa Racing had parted ways earlier this week, both Eurotech and Lloyd have worked tirelessly to put a programme together in an attempt to secure the available TBL.

The deal was inked at Donington Park earlier this morning, and subsequently ratified by Series Organiser TOCA, before the announcement was made live on ITV4 with presenter Steve Rider.

Eurotech has subsequently been loaned the available TBL (TOCA BTCC Licence) for the remainder of the 2016 season.

Lloyd joins an ever-growing number of young guns to have graduated to the BTCC in recent years and the 24-year-old will get the chance to show his abilities in the hugely successful Honda Civic Type R. He will join team-mates Jeff Smith and Martin Depper under the Eurotech Racing banner.

Daniel Lloyd said: “I tested with the team ahead of the season and I was immediately impressed with the way it operated. I have been looking to do the British Touring Car Championship for a long, long time and it is the biggest championship in the country.

“It is going to be a step in to the unknown for me to start with, but I want to get familiar with the car quickly and be challenging for podiums – although starting at Thruxton is going to be an eye-opener. I need to gain confidence, but with the crew around me I am sure that won’t take long.”

Jeff Smith, Eurotech Team Principal, said: “This is exactly the situation we wanted the team to find itself in. It is vital for our future that we have a strong, young driver who help push the entire programme forwards.

“Dan is keen to help Martin and myself move up the grid and we can all learn lessons from each other. This is an important step for Eurotech Racing.”

Motorbase Performance's Mat Jackson won an exciting Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship opener at Donington Park after muscling his way past MG's front row starters.

Pole-sitter Ashley Sutton bogged down off the line and dropped back to fourth while Josh Cook banged wheels with Jackson's Ford Focus, but the latter was able to squeeze through on the run down to Redgate for the first time.

Sutton showed his steel by slipping back past the BMW of Rob Collard before the end of the first tour, and the two drivers would continue their duel for much of the contest.

Aron Smith's VW was shuffled down the order on lap one while Warren Scott's Subaru and Ollie Jackson's Audi were fired into the gravel following contact, bringing about a brief safety car period.

Jackson pulled away from the MG duo following the re-start and was more than a second up the road at the midway stage. Cook was equally comfortable in second while Sutton was fending off fellow slow-starter Tom Ingram for third. The Speedworks man ran side-by-side with Sutton across the start/finish line on lap 11 before making the move stick through Redgate. A slightly ruffled Sutton was then further demoted by the BMWs of Collard and Jack Goff inside a few corners.

Collard's Dunlop soft-shod WSR car began to fade late on, however, and Sutton eventually fought his way back up to fifth. Hampshire's Collard held on to sixth from a surging Jeff Smith in the Eurotech Honda, who had himself blasted by the works Hondas of Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden. BKR's Aron Smith recovered to finish eighth ahead of Sam Tordoff and Colin Turkington.

Shedden and Neal had to settle for 11th and 12th respectively but both used their soft tyre allocation in the opening contest, and will now lose all of their previous success ballast for race two.

The race came to a dramatic end in more ways than one as Matt Simpson and Daniel Welch made heavy contact at Coppice, whilst the Subaru of James Cole burst into flames in a completely unrelated incident. With just one lap to go and three cars littering the circuit in dangerous positions, the stewards were left with no option but to red flag the encounter, handing Jackson a deserved win from Cook and Ingram.

Mat Jackson said: "I looked at the MG guys’ starts from Brands and they struggled a little bit there. Starts are my strong point so I knew I’d have a chance. When (Sutton) sort of fluffed it, I thought 'get in there'. We had a bit of contact with Josh Cook. I definitely got a bit of damage at the front but it was OK; I was hoping nothing had bent on the suspension and it was fine. I think Ash Sutton got a bit of a poor start and Josh was coming across, so it was just one of those things. Cook was quick over the early laps and to be honest, he was all over me, but I managed to withstand the threat and control it from there. It’s a good result and the car was on fire the whole way through!"

Josh Cook said: "It was a pretty interesting start. Me and Ash got off the line poorly and Mat just came straight through the middle. I maintained the gap until Tom Ingram came up to me at the end. It was like something out of a movie with cars on fire and all that! It’s a good result for our side of the garage and the MG Racing RCIB Insurance team as a whole with the work they’ve put into the car and the package they’ve put together. Hopefully there’s more in the car and more to come in race two."

Tom Ingram said: "I made a terrible start in a plume of smoke with a load of wheelspin – it wasn’t my best. I read the first lap well, though, and made up a couple of places. I was trying to save tyres towards the end. I was looking after mine and Ash was going over the curbs fairly heavily with his. I closed up on him and followed him, and coming down the straight I thought 'this is the chance' – I threw it up the inside at turn one and made it stick."

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 4 – Donington Park

1 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance 18m 16.822s
2 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +1.860s
3 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +2.077s
4 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +8.794s
5 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +9.149s
6 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +10.324s
7 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +14.807s
8 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +16.423s
9 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +17.990s
10 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +19.589s
11 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +20.108s
12 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +20.865s
13 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +21.121s
14 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +22.096s
15 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +25.755s
16 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +26.652s
17 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +33.425s
18 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +33.681s
19 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +36.755s
20 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +37.227s
21 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com +37.664s
22 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC Racing +42.861s
23 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +45.956s
24 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +56.439s
25 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1m18.221s
26 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1 lap
27 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing DNF
28 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport DNF
29 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing DNF
30 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport NC
31 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing DNF

Young rookie grabs pole position ahead of team-mate Josh Cook

MG Racing RCIB Insurance scored a memorable one-two in qualifying for Round 4 of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after sensational performances from young duo Ashley Sutton and Josh Cook at Donington Park.

A breathless qualifying session in tricky conditions, which at one stage included sun on one side of the circuit and hail on the other, culminated in an enthralling finale as the 1.97-mile track eventually dried out.

Provisional pole position changed hands more than ten times in the latter stages of running, which had commenced in damp and greasy conditions. With practically all cars utilising the Dunlop wet tyres for the first 25 minutes there were several improvements, but almost as many off-track incidents as competitors struggled to cope with the conditions.

The BKR Volkswagen of Mark Howard was the first to go off and out of the session after just two minutes, whilst Jack Goff, Rob Austin and Matt Simpson all recovered from minor spins. Adding to the drama were issues for champion drivers Gordon Shedden and Andrew Jordan, as their respective machines failed ride-height checks.

Both Halfords Yuasa Racing and Motorbase Performance corrected their cars in order for Shedden and Jordan to rejoin the fray, but the session would go from bad to worse for the latter. Jordan's Pirtek-backed Ford eventually set a blistering pace and briefly moved to the top of the times with just six minutes to go, but pushing further on the following tour proved a step too far as his Focus slid off the circuit and into the gravel.

The red flag was flown as sun scorched its way back through the clouds, and despite hail briefly making an appearance, when the action resumed, the track surface was ready for Dunlop SportMaxx dry tyres.

This meant we were set for a final five-minute shoot-out for pole as times immediately tumbled at the restart. P1 changed hands almost every time a car crossed the line, before Mat Jackson incredibly followed his Motorbase Performance team-mate's lead.

Jackson crossed the line to top the times in his #7 Ford Focus, but then spun wildly out of contention on the very next lap. A gaggle of cars were still completing flying laps as Sutton took over at the top with his MG stablemate Cook slipping in behind, before the red flag came out with Jackson's car languishing in a dangerous position.

Ironically the stoppage also aided Jackson as he hung onto third behind the MGs, while reigning champion Shedden ended up fourth after hauling his ballast-laden Honda Civic Type R up the order. Tom Ingram backed up his pole position at Brands Hatch with a top five placing, ahead of Rob Collard's Team JCT600 with GardX BMW.

Aron Smith's BKR VW was next in the order, whilst Jack Goff's Team IHG Rewards Club BMW edged out Matt Neal's Honda to take eighth. Jake Hill produced another impressive run as the young Team HARD-run racer completed the top ten.

Colin Turkington was the first of the new Silverline Subaru BMR Racing entries, in 11th while his trio of fellow Levorg runners had to settle for 16th, 17th and 18th, with Warren Scott getting the better of both James Cole and Jason Plato.

Ashley Sutton said: "We timed it right with the run and I’m over the moon. Everyone was in the same boat trying to find space on the track, and it ended up being whoever had the car beneath them at the right time and our MG Racing RCIB Insurance car did it for us. Whoever got on the slicks first was quickest. We went on the radio and told the team to do it and we got the rewards for making that decision. It’s a surprise to me as I didn't know I had got pole until we stopped. It’s emotional, being congratulated by Warren Scott – I’ve gone a bit tearful! We didn’t quite show our performance this morning, though Josh did. It’s just a case of showing our pace over the course of the races tomorrow and really settling in."

Josh Cook said: "I’m gutted – I thought I was going to have that. No, I’m happy for the team and Ash. Before the red flag came out, I was ahead. It just appeared at the wrong time and gave everyone a level playing field again. Credit to Ash – I want to kick him a bit really but to have a front row lockout for the MG team is credit to us and to their efforts. It’s great to have the MG team up there. They’ve done a fantastic job over the winter and it’s brilliant to be reaping the rewards. Team boss Ian Harrison rarely smiles, so we must have done a good job!"

Mat Jackson said: "It was entertaining! It was definitely the right choice to go onto slicks. There was a dry line beginning to form on the track and the sun came out for a few minutes. We then got the red flag, as did everyone else, which gave everybody the same opportunity to go and set a time. Dan (Welch) went off in front of me, which put me onto the wet stuff – the rest is history. We’ve got a good race car and we’re well-placed, so let’s see."

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship - Qualifying - Donington Park:

1 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance 1m11.729s
2 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.494s
3 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance 0.532s
4 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.589s
5 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +1.277s
6 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +1.410s
7 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +1.455s
8 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +1.718s
9 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +2.151s
10 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +2.264s
11 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +2.431s
12 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +2.562s
13 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +3.061s
14 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +3.349s
15 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +3.434s
16 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +3.701s
17 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +4.045s
18 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +4.202s
19 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com+4.542s
20 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing +4.952s
21 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +5.132s
22 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +5.182s
23 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +5.271s
24 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +5.485s
25 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +5.543s
26 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +5.916s
27 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +5.985s
28 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC Racing +9.146s
29 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +9.217s
30 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR No Time
31 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing No Time

Tomorrow's triple-header of races will be screened live and exclusively on ITV4 from 10:30am.

Josh Cook doubled up by topping both free practice sessions in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park.

The unwanted interruptions from the earlier session were largely repeated in the second bout as red flag stoppages caused frustrations for much of the order. Alex Martin's Dextra Racing caused the first suspension of play when his Ford Focus became beached in the gravel at sector two, whilst Warren Scott's Subaru was the culprit of the latter. Power Maxed Racing's Kelvin Fletcher also had a late off, which has caused substantial damage to his Chevrolet Cruze.

Tom Ingram's Toyota led the way for much of the running and looked to have fended off all challengers as the clock ticked down. There was, however, just enough time for a number of drivers to improve in the closing moments, as Cook stormed to the top of the timesheets. The MG driver clocked a 1:10.129s lap time, which eclipsed Sam Tordoff's similarly late effort by less than two tenths of a second, whilst Ingram ended up a further 0.050s further back.

Aiden Moffat made it four young guns in the top quartet in the Laser Tools Racing Mercedes, whilst reigning champion Gordon Shedden completed the top five order. Motorbase Performance's Mat Jackson and MG's Ashley Sutton were next up in the order. Jeff Smith, Aron Smith and Rob Collard completed the top ten. The top 16 drivers were separated by less than a second.

Josh Cook said: "We’re always tweaking, we’re always refining everything. Obviously it’s good that we replicated the pace from FP1. We’ve found a good eight tenths now and we need to do the same again to be near the front in qualifying, so head down, more hard work to try and refine the balance a bit more.

"The red flags have been a pain, I think they’ve ruined everybody’s flow but you need to cope with that and put in a lap when you need to. It’s going to be very similar in qualifying. I think a lot of it’s going to come down to finding a bit of space and having a bit of luck at the right time.

"Pole is what everybody’s pushing for but it’s not going to be easy. We’ll see what we can do. Anything in the top five would be ideal because I’m on a mission to pull some points back.

Sam Tordoff said: "It was OK, we just ran through our program and did our thing, put some tyres on at the end but to be honest with you it’s been a difficult day for us. It’s been very greasy and the track is very low grip – we struggled to get any heat in the tyres and I think you could see that from the times.

"We were about a second off where we were last year, which goes to show that the track just isn’t there yet. It’s difficult today with the amount of people that have been going off through the gravel and the grass. The weather has been better, and was getting better through that session – the track was getting a bit warmer. I think it’ll come to us in qualifying but how quick it will be is anyone’s guess.

"I’m not to sure where we’ll be. With the developments we’ve done over the winter, this will be the first real gauge of where we’re at. Given the nature of Brands Hatch, we didn’t really know the gains we’ve made. After qualifying we’ll know where we’re at."

Tom Ingram said: "It was really strong. I’m feeling very hopeful just looking at the times. Everyone’s done their times right at the end on new tyres and we did ours on 25 lap old tyres so promising so far… We know the pace is going to come massively down for qualifying – another four-five tenths at least so I’m almost certain we’ve got more time to find, as has everybody else.

"The car felt very good. We were making quite a few changes throughout the session and it seemed to respond very well so we’ll see.

"We’ve got the best part 15kgs of ballast. We’ve got some in there but not a huge amount so performance wise it shouldn’t affect us anywhere near as much as the guys at the front of the championship. It should be fairly interesting. We want to try what we did at Brands. We know it’ll be difficult but hey, we’ll give it a good shot – you never know."

Qualifying for Round 4 of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will take place at 15:35 and will be streamed via www.itv.com/btcc

MG Racing RCIB Insurance driver Josh Cook topped a truncated free practice one session at Donington Park.

Running was halted on two occasions to retrieve stricken cars from the gravel traps of the Leicestershire circuit, with the latter stoppage bringing an early end to proceedings.

Cook featured throughout, however, having topped the times from the midway stage. Despite the interruptions, the young talent then responded to a late challenge from reigning champion Gordon Shedden, as 24-year-old Cook became the only driver to dip into the 1:10s bracket in the closing moments.

"I didn’t even know my time," said Cook. "We were just trying to find out a decent balance for ourselves. We had a strong weekend at Brands, and had a bit of bad luck really so we want to come here and make sure we claw back as many points as we can really. Good first session, but still a lot to work on. It could be mixed conditions for the rest of the day but we want to make sure we’ve learned as much as possible before qualifying.

"The car feels great. There are still a few things to work on as I’m sure everyone would say. I love this track but that doesn’t mean anything sadly. We’re just going to be knuckling down and getting the best out of me and the car – hoping to be up at the sharp end."

Shedden's Honda Civic Type R – running on near maximum success ballast – hit the front with three minutes to go, but eventually had to settle for second following Cook's late flyer.

"It’s early days yet but it’s OK," said Shedden. "We were just trying to find the balance as everyone else was trying to do but it went decently. It didn’t help that it was a bit of a fragmented session with a couple of incidents throwing red flags. I think we need to take another step forward but it’s a decent place to start. We’ll reload and go again in FP2."

A quintet of race winners and former champions followed in the timesheets as the Fords of Mat Jackson and Andrew Jordan sandwiched Aron Smith, Colin Turkington and Matt Neal in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. It was a particularly impressive run from Ulsterman Turkington as he hauled the new Subaru Levorg into the top five.

Jake Hill will have been buoyed by his eighth place finish, while MG's Ashley Sutton and WSR's Rob Collard rounded out the top ten.

The cold conditions and rather disjointed nature of the session made it difficult to make any real judgement, however, with lap times well over a second off Jason Plato's 2014 qualifying lap record.

Eurotech Racing endured a rather miserable run as both of its cars went off as part of the first red flag stoppage, whilst off-track moments for Mark Howard's VW and Matt Simpson's Honda caused the early end to the session.

Free Practice Two will take place at 12:50 will live timing and commentary available via the BTCC Live Zone. Qualifying will commence at 15:35 and will be streamed exclusively at www.itv.com/btcc.

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

1 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance 1m10.985s
2 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.045s
3 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.446s
4 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +0.469s
5 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +0.596s
6 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.683s
7 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.718s
8 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +0.808s
9 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.829s
10 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.916s
11 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport 1.061s
12 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +1.205s
13 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.276s
14 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.327s
15 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com +1.545s
16 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.551s
17 Jason PLATO (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +1.568s
18 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +1.594s
19 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +1.698s
20 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +1.795s
21 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +1.915s
22 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC Racing +2.226s
23 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +2.251s
24 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +2.462
25 James COLE (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +2.261s
26 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing +2.878s
27 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +5.333s
28 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +6.290s
29 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +6.701s
30 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +9.549s
31 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport No Time

Ahead of the second event of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, Tom Ingram, Ashley Sutton and Aron Smith all spoke to btcc.net with their thoughts on where they are at and where they are hoping to be come the the weekend...

Dan Welch is thrilled to be back racing for real in the revamped Proton Persona, as he fought his way to a double points finish at the Brands Hatch Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season opener.

Having endured some tough times in the BTCC, Welch’s 15^th and 12^th placed finishes at Brands Hatch provided a much needed boon for the Goodestone Racing man, much to his delight and that of his team and its sponsors. He’s now looking to capitalise on a good start to the season with more points at Donington Park.

“I’d totally forgotten what it was like to go racing and defend from people and work your way past and overtake – follow people down the straight,” said Welch.

“It was amazing. It brings the fun back into it and the team and all the sponsors and everybody involved come to watch us go racing and one of them even cried. They all loved it.

“It was a bit of a mixed bag of a weekend for us but to come away with points from the first race was certainly a reminder that we’re here to go racing.

“Saturday, we didn’t really get our act together and Sunday – I generally race better than I qualify anyway – so we were able to work our way up the grid. It was a bit of a shame we didn’t get a result in race three but hey ho!

“We hope to mix with the points. I think that’s where we are now. I’m looking forward to this weekend. If the weather’s a bit iffy like it is at the minute, then it could give us a good chance.”

Halfords Yuasa Racing will be a two-car squad for the remainder of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, after ending its relationship with third driver Andy Neate with immediate effect.

Series organiser TOCA has been kept aware of developments throughout the process and has agreed to the withdrawal of the car from the remainder of the 2016 Championship, and has subsequently recalled the loaned TBL (TOCA BTCC Licence) associated with that entry.

Halfords Yuasa Racing still holds two permanent TBLs, which are required for each entry to guarantee participation, whilst this third licence was loaned to the team prior to the 2016 season.

This loaned TBL shall be re-allocated by TOCA from the next event (Thruxton) to another team/entry for the rest of the season - details of which will be announced in due course.