The morning’s free practice sessions
brought drama, when Mat Jackson, Andy Neate and Ollie Jackson all had hefty
incidents which left a lot of work to do on their cars over the lunch break.
The first person to set a fast time during the half an hour qualifying session was Tom Onslow-Cole in the eBay Motors BMW – which is sporting a Best of British “Touring Cars” livery this weekend – with eBay team mates Rob Collard and Nick Foster followed closely behind.
In the early stages of the session, the majority of drivers were in the pits changing tyres after a trial lap before heading out again to start setting some quick times. Rob Collard briefly took the provisional pole, however quick laps from both Pirtek’s Andrew Jordan and the Honda of Gordon Shedden saw him drop to third.
Jason Plato was next up to top the time sheets, whilst Dave Newsham in the Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra currently lay in sixth, with team mate Chris James down in fifteenth.
After only ten minutes of track action, fast times were being set left, right and centre from the drivers. Jordan now led from Collard and Neal, with the Proton of Dan Welch in a strong tenth place. Honda Racing’s Matt Neal took over the times sheets with a 1.27.424, with his team mate Gordon Shedden now lying in second.
Frank Wrathall’s number 11 Toyota Avensis was currently in sixteenth place, whilst the Speedworks Motorsport Avensis of Adam Morgan was sitting pretty in seventh.
The Redstone Racing team had done a huge amount of work over the lunch break to get Mat Jackson’s car back out on track for qualifying after his free practice shunt earlier on in the day. The incident didn’t dampen Jackson’s spirits however, as his first flying lap of the session put him in fifth place. Team mate Aron Smith was also running well in seventh, with Liam Griffin in seventeenth.
Lea Wood was also running well in the session, getting his Vauxhall Vectra up into a solid sixth place, having set the fastest third sector of the session so far. Jason Plato, who was sitting in the top ten, seemed to be having mechanical issues, as his Triple Eight run MG looked to be smoking from the bonnet on track. The issue didn’t seem to affect Plato’s momentum however, as he soon improved his lap time to go fifth.
Cascades still appeared to be causing some problems for drivers on track. Jeff Smith was the first to make a half slide on the slippy surface, with Nick Foster’s BMW and the Ford Focus of Aron Smith also having moments.
With ten minutes of the session remaining, no major improvements of lap times were being made, with Neal still topping the times ahead of team mate Shedden and the identical Honda Civic of Andrew Jordan in third. Could Honda Domination be on the cards as the session entered its final stages?
Andy Neate in the second KX Momentum MG was running down in fourteenth place with the end of the session looming. The Triple Eight team had done a superb job in getting the car back out for qualifying after a heavy incident during the second free practice session.
Rob Collard was now in fourth, with team mate Onslow-Cole in fifth. After his moment at Cascades, Nick Foster was down in sixteenth place, and looking to make improvements. Meanwhile at the top of the table, Matt Neal dramatically improved his time to a 1.26.949 – a new Oulton Park lap record!
With the clock ticking, lap improvements were being made throughout the field, with Frank Wrathall jumping into sixth, and Tom Onslow-Cole, who after a flying lap came through the third with a handful of minutes remaining. Dan Welch was now in a career best qualifying position of eighth, with Nick Foster also improving to eleventh.
Jason Plato stormed through to second place with just one minute to go; however, he and Rob Collard were both on their final attempt at knocking the Honda of Matt Neal off the top spot.
A mighty drive from Plato saw him clinch pole position with a stunning lap time of 1.26.872 – beating Matt Neal’s lap record time a little earlier on. Matt Neal will start from second place on the grid, whilst another bold drive from Rob Collard sees him starting in third.
Problems with the Ford Focus saw Mat Jackson only manage one flying lap during the session, but this time was still good enough for tenth on the grid for tomorrow’s opening race. Will Bratt, who is stepping from single seaters into touring cars for the first time this weekend with Rob Austin Racing, finished his first BTCC qualifying session in eighteenth place.
Team ES Racing boss Chris James had an incident on track during the final stages of qualifying, which sees him start tomorrow’s first race from twenty-first. Tony Hughes also had an incident on track – the Speedworks Motorsport driver starting from the back of the pack.
The first person to set a fast time during the half an hour qualifying session was Tom Onslow-Cole in the eBay Motors BMW – which is sporting a Best of British “Touring Cars” livery this weekend – with eBay team mates Rob Collard and Nick Foster followed closely behind.
In the early stages of the session, the majority of drivers were in the pits changing tyres after a trial lap before heading out again to start setting some quick times. Rob Collard briefly took the provisional pole, however quick laps from both Pirtek’s Andrew Jordan and the Honda of Gordon Shedden saw him drop to third.
Jason Plato was next up to top the time sheets, whilst Dave Newsham in the Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra currently lay in sixth, with team mate Chris James down in fifteenth.
After only ten minutes of track action, fast times were being set left, right and centre from the drivers. Jordan now led from Collard and Neal, with the Proton of Dan Welch in a strong tenth place. Honda Racing’s Matt Neal took over the times sheets with a 1.27.424, with his team mate Gordon Shedden now lying in second.
Frank Wrathall’s number 11 Toyota Avensis was currently in sixteenth place, whilst the Speedworks Motorsport Avensis of Adam Morgan was sitting pretty in seventh.
The Redstone Racing team had done a huge amount of work over the lunch break to get Mat Jackson’s car back out on track for qualifying after his free practice shunt earlier on in the day. The incident didn’t dampen Jackson’s spirits however, as his first flying lap of the session put him in fifth place. Team mate Aron Smith was also running well in seventh, with Liam Griffin in seventeenth.
Lea Wood was also running well in the session, getting his Vauxhall Vectra up into a solid sixth place, having set the fastest third sector of the session so far. Jason Plato, who was sitting in the top ten, seemed to be having mechanical issues, as his Triple Eight run MG looked to be smoking from the bonnet on track. The issue didn’t seem to affect Plato’s momentum however, as he soon improved his lap time to go fifth.
Cascades still appeared to be causing some problems for drivers on track. Jeff Smith was the first to make a half slide on the slippy surface, with Nick Foster’s BMW and the Ford Focus of Aron Smith also having moments.
With ten minutes of the session remaining, no major improvements of lap times were being made, with Neal still topping the times ahead of team mate Shedden and the identical Honda Civic of Andrew Jordan in third. Could Honda Domination be on the cards as the session entered its final stages?
Andy Neate in the second KX Momentum MG was running down in fourteenth place with the end of the session looming. The Triple Eight team had done a superb job in getting the car back out for qualifying after a heavy incident during the second free practice session.
Rob Collard was now in fourth, with team mate Onslow-Cole in fifth. After his moment at Cascades, Nick Foster was down in sixteenth place, and looking to make improvements. Meanwhile at the top of the table, Matt Neal dramatically improved his time to a 1.26.949 – a new Oulton Park lap record!
With the clock ticking, lap improvements were being made throughout the field, with Frank Wrathall jumping into sixth, and Tom Onslow-Cole, who after a flying lap came through the third with a handful of minutes remaining. Dan Welch was now in a career best qualifying position of eighth, with Nick Foster also improving to eleventh.
Jason Plato stormed through to second place with just one minute to go; however, he and Rob Collard were both on their final attempt at knocking the Honda of Matt Neal off the top spot.
A mighty drive from Plato saw him clinch pole position with a stunning lap time of 1.26.872 – beating Matt Neal’s lap record time a little earlier on. Matt Neal will start from second place on the grid, whilst another bold drive from Rob Collard sees him starting in third.
Problems with the Ford Focus saw Mat Jackson only manage one flying lap during the session, but this time was still good enough for tenth on the grid for tomorrow’s opening race. Will Bratt, who is stepping from single seaters into touring cars for the first time this weekend with Rob Austin Racing, finished his first BTCC qualifying session in eighteenth place.
Team ES Racing boss Chris James had an incident on track during the final stages of qualifying, which sees him start tomorrow’s first race from twenty-first. Tony Hughes also had an incident on track – the Speedworks Motorsport driver starting from the back of the pack.
 |
| A flawless drive from Plato sees him start Race One at Oulton Park on the front row. Picture Credit: Anthony Keenan. |
Final Results:
1) Jason Plato 1.26.872
2) Matt Neal
3) Rob Collard
3) Rob Collard
4) Andrew Jordan
5) Gordon Shedden
6) Tom Onslow-Cole
7) Frank Wrathall
8) Dan Welch
9) Dave Newsham
10) Mat Jackson
11) Aron Smith
12) Andy Neate
13) Nick Foster
14) Lea Wood
15) Liam Griffin
16) Adam Morgan
17) Tony Gilham
18) Will Bratt
19) Jeff Smith
20) Ollie Jackson
21) Chris James
22) Tony Hughes
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