Chilton tops Brands Hatch practice
Tom Chilton topped the timesheets in practice for the final round of the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch
The Team Halfords driver lapped the 1.2-mile Indy circuit in 49.173 in the morning session in his Honda Civic - a time which would remain unbeaten as temperatures rose from 11 to 16 degrees by the early afternoon session.
It was another Tom, Vauxhall's Onslow-Cole, who set the pace in that second session, and it was he who challenged Chilton closest, ending up just six hundredths of a second slower than his rival.
However, with conditions in qualifying likely to be far more similar to those in second practice, Onslow-Cole looks to be the man to beat later this afternoon.
Gordon Shedden made it a brilliant morning for Team Halfords with the third best time while Independent title protagonists Colin Turkington and Mat Jackson were next up in their BMWs, run by Team RAC and BMW Dealer Team UK respectively.
Darren Turner was the best SEAT driver in sixth while champion-elect Fabrizio Giovanardi was one place further back in his Vauxhall.
SEAT's Jason Plato - the only man who can stop Giovanardi from winning a second straight BTCC title - was 11th fastest overall, and lost track time in the opening session due to a power steering fluid leak.
A suspension problem caused a similar time loss for Adam Jones while Erkut Kizilirmak fared even worse.
Switching cars from his regular Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch to an ex-Yvan Muller Astra Coupe for what is his last BTCC race before taking a year out, he managed just two installation laps before the car's engine suffered a compression problem.
With the car unable to be repaired, the Arkas Racing team headed back to their base to collect the second Sport Hatch, which the Turkish driver will attempt to race on Sunday.
Second practice was interrupted by two red flags, the first when a wheelnut was shed at Clearways and the second when Chris Stockton went off at Druids. Stockton's incident, two minutes from the end, brought out a premature chequered flag.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Tom Chilton Honda 49.173 2. Tom Onslow-Cole Vauxhall 49.230 +0.057 3. Gordon Shedden Honda 49.312 +0.139 4. Colin Turkington BMW 49.336 +0.163 5. Mat Jackson BMW 49.370 +0.197 6. Darren Turner SEAT 49.386 +0.213 7. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall 49.391 +0.218 8. Stephen Jelley BMW 49.404 +0.231 9. Matt Neal Vauxhall 49.448 +0.275 10. Rob Collard BMW 49.450 +0.277 11. Jason Plato SEAT 49.579 +0.406 12. Steven Kane BMW 49.582 +0.409 13. Adam Jones SEAT 49.608 +0.435 14. Mike Jordan Honda 49.874 +0.701 15. Andrew Jordan Honda 49.876 +0.703 16. John George Honda 50.061 +0.888 17. Harry Vaulkhard Chevrolet 50.143 +0.970 18. Michael Doyle Honda 50.293 +1.120 19. Jason Hughes Honda 50.160 +1.309 20. Chris Stockton SEAT 50.569 +1.396 21. Martyn Bell Vauxhall 50.724 +1.551 22. Alan Taylor Honda 51.027 +1.946 23. Erkut Kizilirmak Vauxhall no time
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