Rockingham BTCC: Jason Plato tops practice, handed grid penalty
Jason Plato dominated free practice for the British Touring Car Championship round at Rockingham, but could start the first race from the back of the grid
The MG driver ended the second Saturday session four tenths clear of 2013 champion Andrew Jordan but had earlier reached the series' three-strike limit after receiving a verbal warning for contact with Rob Austin in the third race at Knockhill.
Plato, who has appealed the decision but will start from the back of the grid for the opening race on Sunday if it is unsuccessful, channelled any frustration into a blistering pace in FP2.
His early benchmark of 1m22.803s put him comfortably clear of the rest of the field, which was tightly bunched together, with his advantage such that he sat out the final third of the session.
Jordan thus edged a tight battle for best of the rest honours, which ended in 0.085 seconds covering his Eurotech Honda Civic in second and championship leader Colin Turkington's WSR BMW in sixth.
The second MG of Sam Tordoff - which had beaten Jordan to top spot in the first session by 0.001s - outpaced Speedworks Toyota rookie Tom Ingram by a similar margin to end up third, while Aron Smith's BMR Volkswagen CC jumped to fifth late on.
Gordon Shedden was best of the Honda Civic Tourers in eighth, behind Marc Hynes' MG6 and just ahead of Adam Morgan's Ciceley-run Mercedes.
Morgan had been one of the stars of the opening session, which took place amid heavy fog, after ending it third, less than a tenth behind pacesetter Tordoff.
Both sessions were disrupted by red flags. Martin Depper was the culprit in the first, beaching his Eurotech Honda in the Tarzan gravel, while Jack Goff's BMR VW shed its front-left wheel in the second session and eventually pulled off at the same corner.
Practice 1
Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps
1. Sam Tordoff MG 1m23.357s 19
2. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Honda 1m23.358s +0.001s 15
3. Adam Morgan Ciceley Mercedes 1m23.433s +0.076s 16
4. Colin Turkington WSR BMW 1m23.618s +0.261s 15
5. Gordon Shedden Honda 1m23.838s +0.481s 13
6. Tom Ingram Speedworks Toyota 1m23.900s +0.543s 17
7. Fabrizio Giovanardi Motorbase Ford 1m24.069s +0.712s 16
8. Matt Neal Honda 1m24.088s +0.731s 15
9. Jason Plato MG 1m24.173s +0.816s 15
10. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford 1m24.198s +0.841s 15
11. Alain Menu BMR VW 1m24.295s +0.938s 12
12. Rob Austin RAR Audi 1m24.324s +0.967s 14
13. Aron Smith BMR VW 1m24.445s +1.088s 15
14. Jack Goff BMR VW 1m24.480s +1.123s 13
15. Rob Collard WSR BMW 1m24.503s +1.146s 16
16. Marc Hynes MG 1m24.505s +1.148s 17
17. Hunter Abbott RAR Audi 1m24.577s +1.220s 14
18. Glynn Geddie UA Toyota 1m24.791s +1.434s 17
19. Dave Newsham AmD Ford 1m24.917s +1.560s 19
20. Martin Depper Eurotech Honda 1m25.014s +1.657s 10
21. Nick Foster WSR BMW 1m25.030s +1.673s 14
22. James Cole UA Toyota 1m25.324s +1.967s 14
23. Lea Wood Houseman Toyota 1m25.561s +2.204s 16
24. Chris Stockton BTC Chevrolet 1m25.812s +2.455s 15
25. Jack Clarke Motorbase Ford 1m25.832s +2.475s 17
26. Simon Belcher Handy Toyota 1m25.936s +2.579s 14
27. Robb Holland Rotek Audi 1m25.961s +2.604s 16
28. Aiden Moffat Moffat Chevrolet 1m26.547s +3.190s 16
29. Daniel Welch Welch Proton 1m27.582s +4.225s 11
30. Ollie Jackson Welch Proton 1m28.004s +4.647s 9
31. Warren Scott BMR VW 1m29.057s +5.700s 4
Practice 2
Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps
1. Jason Plato MG 1m22.803s 12
2. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Honda 1m23.212s +0.409s 18
3. Sam Tordoff MG 1m23.261s +0.458s 8
4. Tom Ingram Speedworks Toyota 1m23.262s +0.459s 16
5. Aron Smith BMR VW 1m23.265s +0.462s 15
6. Colin Turkington WSR BMW 1m23.297s +0.494s 15
7. Marc Hynes MG 1m23.373s +0.570s 16
8. Gordon Shedden Honda 1m23.414s +0.611s 14
9. Adam Morgan Ciceley Mercedes 1m23.531s +0.728s 15
10. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford 1m23.666s +0.863s 15
11. Matt Neal Honda 1m23.674s +0.871s 15
12. Fabrizio Giovanardi Motorbase Ford 1m23.682s +0.879s 13
13. Hunter Abbott RAR Audi 1m23.788s +0.985s 16
14. Rob Austin RAR Audi 1m23.807s +1.004s 15
15. Martin Depper Eurotech Honda 1m23.952s +1.149s 15
16. Jack Goff BMR VW 1m23.962s +1.159s 10
17. Alain Menu BMR VW 1m24.008s +1.205s 14
18. Glynn Geddie UA Toyota 1m24.038s +1.235s 15
19. Jack Clarke Motorbase Ford 1m24.097s +1.294s 17
20. Warren Scott BMR VW 1m24.132s +1.329s 15
21. Rob Collard WSR BMW 1m24.249s +1.446s 16
22. Nick Foster WSR BMW 1m24.297s +1.494s 15
23. Dave Newsham AmD Ford 1m24.326s +1.523s 15
24. Simon Belcher Handy Toyota 1m24.475s +1.672s 15
25. James Cole UA Toyota 1m24.595s +1.792s 11
26. Lea Wood Houseman Toyota 1m24.640s +1.837s 15
27. Chris Stockton BTC Chevrolet 1m24.806s +2.003s 16
28. Aiden Moffat Moffat Chevrolet 1m24.866s +2.063s 15
29. Robb Holland Rotek Audi 1m25.076s +2.273s 14
30. Daniel Welch Welch Proton 1m26.131s +3.328s 10
31. Ollie Jackson Welch Proton 1m27.244s +4.441s 12
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