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Tarquini back on top in test

Italian ace Gabriele Tarquini returned to the top of the BTCC timings today, setting the fastest lap in testing at Silverstone.

The round eight winner blasted his Honda Accord round the 2.25-miles International Circuit in a time of 1m23.308s. But it was incredibly close at the top with the leading four drivers - all in different manufacturers' cars - covered by less than 0.3s.

Frenchman Yvan Muller was second in his Vauxhall Vectra, just 0.03s ahead of Scottish star Anthony Reid's Ford Mondeo.

Reigning Michelin Cup for Independents champion Matt Neal was fourth fastest in his Team Dynamics Max Power Racing Nissan Primera.

Said Tarquini: "The car seems to be better in the races than in qualifying at the moment, so we concentrated on one-lap runs today using soft tyres. I'm happy to be at the top today, but I am not really happy with the set-up of the car. We need to work on it for tomorrow's qualifying.

"I hope to be able to repeat this performance in qualifying, but it's too early so say if we can stay at the top all weekend."

Will Hoy, the 1991 BTCC Champion making his debut in Class B this weekend, was quickest in the division in his Touring Car VIP Club Peugeot 306 GTi. He was nearly 0.7s faster than his team-mate Alan Morrison in a similar car.

Top 10 times from Silverstone
1 G Tarquini, Redstone Team Honda, Honda Accord, 1:23.308s
2 Y Muller, Vauxhall Motorsport, Vauxhall Vectra, 1:23.432s
3 A Reid, Ford Team Mondeo, Ford Mondeo Zetec, 1:23.463s
4 M Neal*, Team Dynamics, Nissan Primera GT, 1:23.574s
5 A Menu, Ford Team Mondeo, Ford Mondeo Zetec, 1:23.783s
6 T Kristensen, Redstone Team Honda, Honda Accord, 1:23.959s
7 J Plato, Vauxhall Motorsport, Vauxhall Vectra, 1:24.068s
8 R Rydell, Ford Team Mondeo, Ford Mondeo Zetec, 1:24.179s
9 V Radermecker, Vauxhall Motorsport, Vauxhall Vectra, 1:24.185s
10 James Thompson, Redstone Team Honda, Honda Accord, 1:24.880s

Class B 1 W Hoy, Touring Car VIP Club, Peugeot 306 Gti, 1:32.033s

* = Michelin Cup for Independent runner

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