Chilton fastest in Brands practice
Tom Chilton was a surprise pace-setter in practice for the final round of the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch as the timesheet took on an unusual look
With his season having gradually gathered momentum after a poor start, Chilton was third quickest in the morning session and improved his time by half a second in the afternoon to take the top spot in his Arena Ford Focus.
His lap of 1m33.503s was a little over a tenth of a second quicker than Paul O'Neill, who was another surprise name near the top in his aged Tech-Speed Honda Integra.
Third fastest was Motorbase BMW driver Jonathan Adam, who headed the RML Chevrolets of Jason Plato and Mat Jackson, which were expected to set the pace from the outset.
Plato, who lies 28 points behind championship leader Colin Turkington with 52 up for grabs this weekend, was the quickest of the three title contenders during practice.
Turkington was only 10th quickest in his WSR BMW, seven tenths off the pace and one place behind Fabrizio Giovanardi, who has endured a trying day so far.
After the Vauxhall squad changed the differential on his car following problems in the first session, Giovanardi completed only one flying lap before spinning off at Paddock Hill Bend and bedding his car in the gravel.
That incident brought out the red flags and prevented him from getting much useful running during the session.
The Vauxhall squad had already been hard at work after the first session as Matt Neal, after setting a time that would remain the quickest of the session, ground to a halt on the run up to Druids. His engine was changed between sessions.
Ex-Formula 1 ace Johnny Herbert was 17th quickest, behind his Team Dynamics Honda team-mate David Pinkney, while rookie Matt Hamilton lost most of the first session to a gearbox issue on his TH Motorsport Honda.
Pos Driver Car Time 1. Tom Chilton Ford 1m33.503s 2. Paul O'Neill Honda 1m33.640s 3. Jonathan Adam BMW 1m33.790s 4. Jason Plato Chevrolet 1m33.821s 5. Mat Jackson Chevrolet 1m33.843s 6. Matt Neal Vauxhall 1m33.914s 7. Tom Onslow-Cole Ford 1m33.922s 8. Andrew Jordan Vauxhall 1m34.102s 9. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall 1m34.215s 10. Colin Turkington BMW 1m34.228s 11. Rob Collard BMW 1m34.331s 12. Stephen Jelley BMW 1m34.341s 13. Anthony Reid BMW 1m34.460s 14. Gordon Shedden SEAT 1m34.558s 15. David Pinkney Honda 1m34.693s 16. Harry Vaulkhard Chevrolet 1m35.217s 17. Johnny Herbert Honda 1m35.287s 18. Matt Hamilton Honda 1m36.099s 19. John George Honda 1m36.156s 20. Martyn Bell Honda 1m36.637s 21. Martin Johnson Vauxhall 1m38.015s
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