Knockhill BTCC: Rob Collard sets practice pace

The WSR BMWs proved quick around the tight and twisty Scottish track and Collard, Tom Onslow-Cole and Nick Foster all featured near the front.

Local man Gordon Shedden (works Honda Civic) and Jason Plato's MG6 attacked early on in free practice one, but Collard topped the timesheets for much of the session.

Onslow-Cole then went even quicker before Shedden pulled out a lap of 52.944s to top FP1 as the only man under the 53s barrier.

With Onslow-Cole out of the second session early after causing a red flag, FP2 boiled down to a fight between Shedden and Collard.

This time it was Collard who recorded the quickest time, his 52.910s effort pipping Shedden's earlier mark.

Onslow-Cole's morning effort kept him third overall, while a late FP2 charge from Snetterton winner Dave Newsham brought his Vauxhall Vectra into fourth overall.

Andrew Jordan's Eurotech Honda Civic was fourth in FP2, giving him fifth overall, while Foster underlined the rear-wheel-drive BMW's pace by completing the top six.

Both of Shedden's title rivals, team-mate Matt Neal and Plato, had trying sessions. Neal recorded few quick times and ended up 12th, while problems in FP2 left Plato to rely on his earlier mark, which was only good enough for ninth.

Practice Two:

Pos  Driver           Team/Car           Time       Gap
 1.  Rob Collard      WSR BMW            52.910s
 2.  Gordon Shedden   Honda              53.092s  + 0.182s
 3.  Dave Newsham     ES Vauxhall        53.183s  + 0.273s
 4.  Andrew Jordan    Eurotech Honda     53.287s  + 0.377s
 5.  Nick Foster      WSR BMW            53.311s  + 0.401s
 6.  Adam Morgan      Speedworks Toyota  53.400s  + 0.490s
 7.  Paul O'Neill     Speedworks Toyota  53.412s  + 0.502s
 8.  Jeff Smith       Eurotech Honda     53.545s  + 0.635s
 9.  Mat Jackson      Motorbase Ford     53.606s  + 0.696s
10.  Matt Neal        Honda              53.608s  + 0.698s
11.  Aron Smith       Motorbase Ford     53.642s  + 0.732s
12.  Daniel Welch     Welch Proton       53.645s  + 0.735s
13.  Frank Wrathall   Dynojet Toyota     53.664s  + 0.754s
14.  Jason Plato      MG                 53.717s  + 0.807s
15.  Andy Neate       MG                 54.153s  + 1.243s
16.  Lea Wood         Central Vauxhall   54.231s  + 1.321s
17.  Robb Holland     Gilham Honda       54.357s  + 1.447s
18.  Tom Onslow-Cole  WSR BMW            55.098s  + 2.188s
19.  Chris James      ES Vauxhall        55.218s  + 2.308s

Practice One:

Pos  Driver           Team/Car           Time       Gap
 1.  Gordon Shedden   Honda              52.944s
 2.  Tom Onslow-Cole  WSR BMW            53.147s  + 0.203s
 3.  Rob Collard      WSR BMW            53.246s  + 0.302s
 4.  Paul O'Neill     Speedworks Toyota  53.350s  + 0.406s
 5.  Andrew Jordan    Eurotech Honda     53.444s  + 0.500s
 6.  Jason Plato      MG                 53.498s  + 0.554s
 7.  Nick Foster      WSR BMW            53.520s  + 0.576s
 8.  Adam Morgan      Speedworks Toyota  53.772s  + 0.828s
 9.  Dave Newsham     ES Vauxhall        53.913s  + 0.969s
10.  Aron Smith       Motorbase Ford     53.929s  + 0.985s
11.  Mat Jackson      Motorbase Ford     53.939s  + 0.995s
12.  Jeff Smith       Eurotech Honda     53.942s  + 0.998s
13.  Frank Wrathall   Dynojet Toyota     54.004s  + 1.060s
14.  Matt Neal        Honda              54.114s  + 1.170s
15.  Daniel Welch     Welch Proton       54.226s  + 1.282s
16.  Lea Wood         Central Vauxhall   54.853s  + 1.909s
17.  Andy Neate       MG                 54.913s  + 1.969s
18.  Robb Holland     Gilham Honda       55.097s  + 2.153s
19.  Chris James      ES Vauxhall        55.159s  + 2.215s