Speedworks Motorsport's Tom Ingram topped the opening Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship Free Practice session at Snetterton as the Toyota driver looks to get his title charge back on track.

The series returns to action this weekend after its traditional mid-season break and it seems that Ingram is refreshed and ready to go. The 26-year-old made a blistering start to the campaign – leading the standings after the third event at Thruxton in May – but his challenge rather unravelled at both Oulton Park and Croft thereafter. His driving ability and potent Toyota Avensis has never been in doubt, however, so it will come as little surprise to see the multiple BTCC race-winner competing at the front again this weekend.

Ash Sutton led the way for much of the FP1 running, backing up his pace-setting efforts in the recent two-day test at the Norfolk circuit, but the Subaru star eventually had to settle for second after Ingram's 1:56.003s lap time.

Ciceley Motorsport enjoyed a good solid session with Adam Morgan bringing his Mercedes A-Class home in third place, ahead of the BMW duo of Andrew Jordan and Colin Turkington.

Jack Goff and Rob Austin left it late to set their best times in the session, with the former getting the better of the battle by just 0.002s - the Eurotech Racing and Handy Motorsport drivers ending up sixth and seventh respectively.

There were some surprise packages in the lower end of the top ten with Chris Smiley, James Cole and Ollie Jackson completing the order. All 31 cars were out on track during the 40 minutes of running.

The second practice session takes place at 1210, whilst qualifying for Round 16 of the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is scheduled for 1550. You can keep up to date with the action via our LIVE commentary and timing service here, whilst ITV will bring you live and exclusive coverage of qualifying over at www.itv.com/btcc.

2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 1 – Snetterton

1 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport 1m56.003s (92.13 mph)
2 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.102s
3 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Ciceley Motorsport +0.414s
4 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +0.420s
5 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.429s
6 Jack GOFF (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.547s
7 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +0.549s
8 Chris SMILEY (GBR) BTC Norlin Racing +0.744s
9 James COLE (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.983s
10 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmDtuning.com with Cobra Exhausts +1.025s
11 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +1.029s
12 Jason PLATO (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +1.167s
13 Jake HILL (GBR) TAG Racing +1.193s
14 Dave NEWSHAM (GBR) BTC Norlin Racing +1.236s
15 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.241s
16 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +1.296s
17 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Team BMW +1.319s
18 Michael EPPS (GBR) Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing +1.403s
19 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +1.556s
20 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.565s
21 Will BURNS (GBR) Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing +1.671s
22 Aron TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +1.753s
23 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +1.769s
24 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.779s
25 Brett SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.790s
26 Josh PRICE (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +1.940s
27 Ant WHORTON-EALES (GBR) AmDtuning.com with Cobra Exhausts +2.155s
28 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +2.233s
29 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport +2.457s
30 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +4.458s
31 Stewart LINES (GBR) Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport +4.782s

Team BMW heads to Snetterton this weekend aiming to maintain its position as Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship leaders as the season resumes after its summer break.

The WSR-run outfit leads the Teams’ Championship after 15 of 30 races while BMW is ahead in the Manufacturers’ points race thanks to four victories and 10 podiums from Rob Collard and Colin Turkington.

Hampshire racer Collard is enjoying his best BTCC campaign to date with a record number of points and podiums by the midway point. The only driver to score points in every race so far in 2017, he lies second in the Drivers’ Championship.

He claimed his best Snetterton result last year with a second-place finish following a sensational battle in race three, and is aiming for a big haul of points, despite heading into the weekend carrying 66kgs of success ballast.

Northern Irishman Turkington has won at Snetterton four times in the BTCC and has been victorious at the 2.99-mile Norfolk circuit in each of the past two seasons.

The two-time champion was a winner at Croft last time out to move up to third in the Drivers’ tally and carries 57kgs this weekend.

Collard said: "The first half of the season has gone superbly; I've been on the podium at every event and am the only driver to finish in the points in every race. I’m second in the Drivers’ Championship, which is exactly where I was this time last year, but I’m 21 points better off, which shows the continuing improvements of the Team BMW 125i M Sport and my driving. That level of consistency is what wins championships and the aim is certainly to continue that form at Snetterton.”

Turkington said: "I have a little bit of ground to make up because of a bad weekend at Oulton Park, and that proves you need to maximise your points at every event to stay in contention. I’ve won at Snetterton four times so I’m pretty optimistic that I can score well this weekend and continue to close in on the lead of the points table.”

Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, said: “We've had a strong season so far, maximising our performances when we needed to, rather than by having the out-and-out fastest car. Now we come to Snetterton, which has been a good circuit for the BMW since the layout was changed in 2011. Rob and Colin are well placed and therefore both are heavy ballast-wise, but this is nothing unusual when you’re fighting for titles and we’ll use the information gathered in testing here a few weeks ago to help us this weekend.”

Meanwhile, at BMW Pirtek Racing, Andrew Jordan heads into the sixth meeting of the season sitting seventh in the championship standings after a mixed start to his first year at the wheel of his West Surrey Racing-run BMW 125i M Sport.
 
Wins at Donington Park and Oulton Park have been the undoubted high for the 28-year-old, who has led more laps than anyone else at the half-way point of the season, while 13 points scoring finishes in 15 starts have helped BMW Pirtek Racing to fifth in the Teams’ Championship.
 
The last meeting before the summer break proved to be the most challenging of the season so far for Andrew after his car was extensively damaged in a qualifying accident, with his team working round the clock to ensure he was able to compete on race day.
 
With the BMW now fully repaired, and a successful two-day test at the Norfolk circuit under his belt, Andrew goes into the weekend in confident mood and with his sights firmly set on returning to the front of the field.
 
Jordan said: “Croft was a tough weekend because of the incident in qualifying, and it was a bonus that we even raced there on the Sunday given the condition that the car was in,” he said.
 
“The boys at WSR performed a real miracle to get the BMW in a position where we could compete, and the summer break has given the team the chance to not only fix the car, but to look at how we can improve it going into the second half of the year.
 
“The six week break seems to have really dragged and I can’t wait to get back in the car this weekend, especially at a circuit where the BMW should be good. I think we found some gains during the test earlier in the month and I go to Snetterton with wins, podiums and a good haul of points as my aim.”

The IHG® Rewards Club Podium Predictor makes its comeback as the BTCC returns after the mid-season break at Norfolk's Snetterton circuit, so be sure to get your entries in over at podiumpredictor.com now!

The BTCC Podium Predictor is new for 2017 and gives fans the chance to score bragging rights and a bundle of top-drawer prizes courtesy of longstanding championship partners IHG® Rewards Club.

If you beat the pundit you’ll be in line for a massive 50,000 IHG® Rewards Club points to spend as you wish plus signed motor sport artwork from Graham and Leigh and more special gifts. Of course, you’ll get tickets to a race weekend of your choosing, too. 

In order to qualify for the ultimate prize as Ultimate Predictor – with 1,000,000 IHG® Rewards Club points up for grabs, you’ll need to predict every podium finish and all race and class fastest laps correctly, scoring the maximum 120 points.

John Hindhaugh, The Voice of Global Sports Cars on Radio Le Mans, TV presenter and radio commentator reckons Gordon Shedden, Colin Turkingon and Matt Neal will seal victories while earmarking Mat Jackson as the man who'll nail the fastest lap of the weekend.

Entries are open until 2359 on Saturday evening – so you get the chance to analyse Free Practice and Qualifying before you make your predictions.

The AmDTuning.com with Cobra Exhausts team will look to maintain the form it showed prior to the summer break when the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season resumes this weekend at Snetterton.
 
The West Thurrock-based team enjoyed a stellar weekend at Croft last month during round five, with drivers Ollie Jackson and Ant Whorton-Eales coming away from the trip to North Yorkshire with four points finishes between them.
 
Jackson in particular heads for Snetterton on a high, with the Tamworth-based racer having scored his best result since the 2012 season last time out; a ninth place finish also being the best finish to date for the team’s Audi S3.
 
The 33-year-old took part in the opening day of a two-day long official test at Snetterton earlier this month, completing more than 70 laps and posting what would turn out to be the seventh best time overall.
 
“Snetterton is one of those circuits that is always quite challenging but we go there feeling positive,” he said. “We obviously picked up some good results at Croft before the summer break and also showed strong pace during testing, which I think sets us up well for the weekend ahead.
 
“During the test, we worked through various things to allow us to improve the car even more, and there are a number of things that we plan to do in practice to keep refining the car. I have no doubt at all from the work that we’ve done that we’ll have a strong car on race day and our main focus has to be on qualifying well to put us in the best position possible for the races.
 
“If things go our way, there is no reason why we can’t repeat the kind of results we scored at Croft, but the first target is to make sure we are in the points scoring positions and then we can take advantage of anything that comes our way.”
 
Team-mate Whorton-Eales also scored his best finish of the season at Croft, with the Lichfield racer just missing out on breaking into the top ten for the first time in his BTCC career.
 
The reigning Clio Cup UK title winner has shown flashes of his speed in the Audi so far this season but has also endured his fair share of misfortune, which leaves him playing catch up in the battle to secure the Jack Sears Trophy for top rookie.
 
“The opening half of the season was full of ups and downs, but we showed how good we can be at Croft and I can’t wait to get back in the car this weekend,” he said. “It seems like six months since we last raced, never mind six weeks, and I’m looking forward to getting out on track at Snetterton to see if we can build on the pace we showed last time out.
 
“We learned an awful lot in the first half of the season and have been able to use the summer break to evaluate everything and look at where we can improve. My aim this weekend is to try and bring home the Jack Sears Trophy and also to challenge for points across the three races, which is something we can certainly view as a realistic goal.”
 
Team boss Shaun Hollamby admitted that the team was heading for Snetterton in optimistic mood after a busy summer period, with hopes high of both drivers challenging for points.
 
“We’ve been flat out since Croft repairing damage to Ant’s car, going testing and then preparing for this weekend – so it hasn’t been much of a summer break!” he said. “Although it’s a shame that the damage to Ant’s car meant we could only run one during the Snetterton test, we were able to learn a huge amount and it leaves us confident that we can have a strong weekend this weekend.
 
“The aim is very much to build on the results we secured at Croft, and we have now shown that we have the pace in the car to fight for points on merit. There is the possibility of rain which would also work in our favour, as both Ollie and Ant have shown strong pace in wet conditions.
 
“We’d like to welcome onboard a new sponsor this weekend in the shape of Ed O’Shea and EOS Resourcing Group and as we prepare to go racing again, I also want to thank Cobra Sport and all our existing sponsors for their continued support.
 
“Away from ourselves, it’s also pleasing to see that the three drivers who were involved in the accident at Croft before the summer break are all doing well with their recovery from the injuries they sustained. It’s also pleasing to see the positive reports that have come out of the investigations carried out by the governing bodies into the incident.
 
“Peter Riches and the TOCA Technical Team deserve a lot of credit for the work that has gone in to improving safety in the series, and what happened at Croft has shown the impact of those improvements.”

The summer break is over and the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is back as the bandwagon rolls into Snetterton.

The tens of thousands of fans trackside this weekend can compliment their viewing with the LIVE section of the BTCC website, where you can access circuit commentary and live timing, whilst the ITV Hub App will broadcast live coverage throughout Sunday on mobile and tablet devices.

Those unable to attend in Norfolk may also choose to use the ITV Hub App (download from App Store, Google Play, Amazon etc) in order to watch the live action while on the move, or you can watch from a desktop computer via www.itv.com/btcc. Saturday’s qualifying session will be streamed live online at www.itv.com/btcc and is now available on mobile devices.

ITV4 broadcasts an incredible eight hours of live coverage on Sunday for each and every BTCC race, plus a magnitude of support contests being shown from 10:45am.

To get yourself in the mood you can catch up with the action from the Rounds 13, 14 and 15 and Croft on the ITV Hub here.

Qualifying LIVE: Saturday 29 July
ITV.com/BTCC 1550-1620

Raceday LIVE: Sunday 30 July
ITV4 1045-1800
ITV4+1 1145-1900
ITV Hub 1045-1800
ITV.com/BTCC 1045-1800

Highlights: Saturday 5 August
ITV4: 1040-1215

Highlights: Sunday 6 August
ITV4: 0635-0755

Highlights: Wednesday 6 August
CBS: 2100 ET

Highlights: Thursday 7 August
CBS: 0100 ET

BTC Norlin Racing's trucks are en route to Snetterton following shakedown yesterday morning as the outfit completed its preparations for the next three rounds of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign in Norfolk this weekend.

Despite the six-week hiatus between race weekends, it has been a busy period for the team, with testing at Snetterton earlier in July as all concerned set about working to build on positive performances throughout the first half of the season. The last outing at Croft saw both Dave Newsham and Chris Smiley scoring points, finishing in 13th and 15th with Newsham continuing his run of points at every round so far.

The ambitious team is ready to hit the ground running at Snetterton, targeting the top 15 for both cars in qualifying and top 10 finishes over the course of Sunday. As ever, the BTCC field is fiercely competitive, but Bert Taylor – Team Principal – is confident.

“We have been working hard to build on what we achieved so far this season," said Taylor "And really, given that we are a new team this year, we have achieved a lot. We had a great test at Snetterton and I am confident that we will see a further step forward with our results.”

Newsham rounded out the July test with fifth spot, confident with car performance and the data collected by the team; and Snetterton is a circuit Newsham loves to race at.

“Snetterton is actually the venue of my very first BTCC win!" said Newsham. "The track suits me well and I’ve always done well there.

"Podiums and Independent wins are our goal for the rest of the season. With my improved BTC Norlin Racing Chevrolet, I have the tools for the job – so no excuses.”

This year has been Smiley's first full campaign in the championship and he is eyeing more through the second half of 2017.

“I really want to build on the first half of my first proper season in the BTCC," said Smiley. "The team, Dave and myself have really learnt a lot working together. It's very easy to forget that none of this existed eight months ago! We're fresh on the scene.”

“With that in mind, I am so proud with all that we have done so far. We have certainly lacked a bit of luck in the first half of the season but we know that we have good pace in the car, and this was shown at the two-day test earlier this month. We will see how well that can translate to the track this weekend – we're optimistic.”

Team Shredded Wheat Racing with DUO takes to the track once again this coming weekend, as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship returns from its annual summer break at Snetterton.

The reigning Independent Teams’ champions arrive in Norfolk in winning form, having scored their maiden outright race win of the season last time out at Croft. It was a roller-coaster weekend for the Motorbase-run team following Luke Davenport's injury. However, the weekend also proved pivotal for the squad’s 2017 campaign with Mat Jackson storming back onto the rostrum with three Independent race wins, an overall third place podium and his first outright race win of the season.

Team-mate Martin Depper also enjoyed his most successful weekend of the season to date. The eSpares-backed driver battled through from the back of the grid to take tenth in race two. The turnaround weekend’s results saw the Team Shredded Wheat Racing with DUO vault to the top of the Independent standings and the Kent-based squad now heads to Snetterton - one of its most successful circuits – in confident shape.

“Obviously Croft was a rollercoaster weekend for us with Luke’s accident and our first win of the season,” said Team Manager Oly Collins. “The performances were our best of the season and now that we've opened our winning account, the plan is to carry on in that manner.

“We turned a bit of a corner with the car at Croft and we're confident that we can carry that into Snetterton. We're leading the Independent Teams standings and our aim is to strengthen that position as we head into the business end of the season.”

With Davenport’s Focus beyond repair, the team will be fielding two of its race-winning Ford Focus STs as the season gets back underway this weekend. Fortunately, the 24-year-old has made excellent progress and is now recuperating at home and although he will not race again this season, his physio programme is well underway and he is expected to make a full recovery.

The outcome of the accident however, means that the squad’s efforts are now focused not only on the coming weekend, but also on completing the build of the new third Focus in time for the next round at Knockhill which follows just two weeks later.

“It’s great to see Luke recovering now and we're all looking positively to the rest of our season;” added Collins. “Snetterton holds a lot of good memories for us. We unveiled the first-ever Motorbase Performance designed and built BTCC car here five years ago and we've had some really good results there.”

“We enjoyed our strongest race meeting of the season here in 2016, but that’s all in the past. You can't rule anyone out, such is the strength of the grid and the recent test at Snetterton showed up some interesting results. It’s going to be another very close grid again this weekend.”

Rounds 16, 17 and 18 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will be broadcast live and in high-definition on ITV4 and via the ITV Hub on Sunday 30 July between 1115 – 1800. Live streaming of Saturday’s qualifying session is also available via itv.com/btcc between 1550 and 1620.

Mat Jackson said:  “Croft was a real turning point in the season so far. There has been so much work behind the scenes at Motorbase to get back the pace we showed earlier in the season.

“We had an extremely successful test at Snetterton during the break when we were able to test many changes to the car and hopefully we can build on our winning ways from Croft. We have enjoyed great success at Snetterton over the years and really hope that we can start the second half of the season with a bang!”

Martin Depper said: “I’m eagerly awaiting the second part of the season. I didn’t quite start the season with the pace I expected but we’ve all worked hard, and continue to iron out performance, hence Croft was my best weekend yet!

“Snetterton will be really one of continued development, and ideally my chance to move up the grid. As for the circuit itself, it’s one of the longest circuits we race on and where it’s all about your exit of corners, so that’s what I will be concentrating on.”

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How have the current top ten gone throughout the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season so far? Click the chart below to download the points tally tracker.