Frank Wrathall quickest in first British Touring Car practice at Rockingham
Frank Wrathall continued his fine British Touring Car form by topping the first free practice at Rockingham this morning
Like all the NGTC cars, Wrathall's Dynojet Toyota Avensis was handed a 0.05 bar boost reduction before the weekend but set a 1m24.608s with an early run. Nobody beat that time during the rest of the 40-minute session.
Chevrolet Cruze pairing Jason Plato and Alex MacDowall were second and third respectively, while Knockhill winner Tom Chilton (Arena Ford Focus) was fourth, half a second down on Wrathall.
Andrew Jordan (Eurotech/Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra) and championship contender Mat Jackson (Motorbase Ford Focus) also set times relatively early on and ended up fifth and sixth.
Honda's title rivals Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal were eighth and 10th respectively, around a second off the leading pace.
BTCC debutant Michael Caine was 15th in the third Motorbase Ford Focus, ahead of team regular Liam Griffin, despite a power steering issue towards the end of the session.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota 1m24.608s 2. Jason Plato Chevrolet 1m24.736s + 0.128s 3. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet 1m24.842s + 0.234s 4. Tom Chilton Arena Ford 1m25.165s + 0.557s 5. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall 1m25.288s + 0.680s 6. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford 1m25.342s + 0.734s 7. Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT 1m25.421s + 0.813s 8. Gordon Shedden Honda 1m25.573s + 0.965s 9. Rob Austin Rob Austin Audi 1m25.658s + 1.050s 10. Matt Neal Honda 1m25.672s + 1.064s 11. Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet 1m25.866s + 1.258s 12. Tom Onslow-Cole Arena Ford 1m25.951s + 1.343s 13. Daniel Welch Welch Proton 1m26.011s + 1.403s 14. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall 1m26.017s + 1.409s 15. Michael Caine Motorbase Ford 1m26.038s + 1.430s 16. Rob Collard WSR BMW 1m26.102s + 1.494s 17. Martin Byford AmD Volkswagen 1m26.357s + 1.749s 18. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall 1m26.493s + 1.885s 19. Dave Newsham Special Tuning SEAT 1m26.537s + 1.929s 20. Nick Foster WSR BMW 1m26.634s + 2.026s 21. Andy Neate Arena Ford 1m26.635s + 2.027s 22. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet 1m27.314s + 2.706s 23. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford 1m27.390s + 2.782s 24. Tony Gilham Geoff Steel BMW 1m27.472s + 2.864s 25. Lea Wood Central Honda 1m28.937s + 4.329s 26. Chris James ES Chevrolet 1m29.406s + 4.798s
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments