Snetterton BTCC test: Colin Turkington fastest in WSR BMW

The day of running was ostensibly for Dunlop to conduct tyre testing, including comparing the German-made 2015 tyres with the current rubber.

Different tyre compounds, ages and fuel loads made direct comparison difficult, but Turkington's best of 1m57.048s - set in the afternoon - was just over a tenth slower than the effort that put him on the front row for last weekend's Snetterton round.

The improving Aiden Moffat's Chevrolet Cruze was second with 1m57.349s, 1.5 seconds faster than the machine managed in Snetterton qualifying. The time was set on fresh tyres and running in qualifying trim.

Tom Ingram's Speedworks Toyota Avensis had set the pace in the morning, with a 1m57.634s. He failed to improve in the afternoon, but the time was still good enough for third overall.

Alain Menu's BMR Volkswagen Passat was near the front throughout the day and ended up fourth. He and Ciceley Mercedes driver Adam Morgan were the only other runners under the 1m58s barrier.

Jake Hill, who raced in the BTCC finale last year, drove AmD's Ford Focus for the final hour.

He recorded a time of 1m59.461s on new tyres, compared to the 1m59.120s (morning) and 1m59.731s (afternoon) laps of regular driver Dave Newsham, who was concentrating on set-up work.

Just over half the BTCC field participated in the test, with the leading absentees being the Triple Eight MG and Eurotech Honda squads.

Pos  Driver               Team/Car           Time       Gap
 1.  Colin Turkington     WSR BMW            1m57.048s
 2.  Aiden Moffat         Moffat Chevrolet   1m57.349s  +0.301s
 3.  Tom Ingram           Speedworks Toyota  1m57.634s  +0.586s
 4.  Alain Menu           BMR VW             1m57.901s  +0.853s
 5.  Adam Morgan          Ciceley Mercedes   1m57.969s  +0.921s
 6.  Aron Smith           BMR VW             1m58.133s  +1.085s
 7.  Mat Jackson          Motorbase Ford     1m58.296s  +1.248s
 8.  Gordon Shedden       Honda              1m58.299s  +1.251s
 9.  Fabrizio Giovanardi  Motorbase Ford     1m58.383s  +1.335s
10.  Matt Neal            Honda              1m58.415s  +1.367s
11.  Warren Scott         BMR VW             1m58.432s  +1.384s
12.  Jack Goff            BMR VW             1m58.530s  +1.482s
13.  Rob Austin           RAR Audi           1m58.973s  +1.925s
14.  Dave Newsham         AmD Ford           1m59.120s  +2.072s
15.  Jake Hill            AmD Ford           1m59.461s  +2.413s
16.  Simon Belcher        Handy Toyota       1m59.911s  +2.863s
17.  Hunter Abbott        RAR Audi           2m00.106s  +3.058s
18.  Dan Welch            Welch Proton       2m00.908s  +3.860s
19.  Ollie Jackson        Welch Proton       2m04.256s  +7.208s