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Collard sets practice pace at Brands

Rob Collard set the pace in practice for the opening round of the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch

The Motorbase BMW driver's quickest lap of 48.941 was faster than Yvan Muller's eight-year-old qualifying record around the Kent circuit and came mid-way through the second of two sessions during Saturday morning.

Vauxhall driver Matt Neal was second quickest, 0.056 seconds slower than Collard. The former double champion also set his best time in the second session, which was held in warmer conditions than the earlier one.

Neal's new team-mate Andrew Jordan was third fastest, while Colin Turkington was next up in his WSR BMW. Turkington set the pace in the morning session, which began in damp before drying out towards the end, but he was unable to improve on his time later on.

Gordon Shedden was the best of the Team Dynamics drivers and set the fifth quickest time in his Honda Civic, while Motorbase driver Jonathan Adam was next up in his BMW.

Reigning champion Fabrizio Giovanardi was only seventh quickest, although the Vauxhall driver's best time was less than two tenths of a second off the pace.

Turkington's team-mate Stephen Jelley was eighth, one place ahead of Jason Plato. The 2001 champion, who only signed a deal to race an RML Chevrolet Lacetti earlier this week, spent both sessions honing his set-up.

Completing the top 10, just over half a second down on Collard, was Adam Jones - although the Clyde Valley SEAT driver only managed eight laps during the second session. His team-mate Dan Eaves was back in 14th after suffering from a power steering failure in the opening session.

The Arena Fords were off the pace in both sessions with Tom Chilton and Alan Morrison just 16th and 17th quickest, while Maxtreme driver Liam McMillan had his second session cut short due to an engine problem.

Combined times:
Pos Driver                  Car              Time
 1. Rob Collard             BMW            48.941
 2. Matt Neal               Vauxhall       48.997
 3. Andrew Jordan           Vauxhall       49.004
 4. Colin Turkington        BMW            49.006
 5. Gordon Shedden          Honda          49.079
 6. Jonathan Adam           BMW            49.097
 7. Fabrizio Giovanardi     Vauxhall       49.102
 8. Stephen Jelley          BMW            49.234
 9. Jason Plato             Chevrolet      49.335
10. Adam Jones              SEAT           49.587
11. Harry Vaulkhard         Chevrolet      49.708
12. John George             Honda          49.865
13. David Pinkney           Honda          49.949
14. Dan Eaves               SEAT           50.012
15. Martyn Bell             Honda          50.182
16. Tom Chilton             Ford           50.366
17. Alan Morrison           Ford           51.199
18. Liam McMillan           SEAT           51.225
19. Martin Johnson          Vauxhall       51.264
20. Nick Leason             BMW            52.385

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