Thompson quickest in bonus test
James Thompson was quickest in the bonus World Touring Car Championship test session at Brands Hatch this afternoon
Because Brands Hatch's Grand Prix layout is a new circuit to the championship, the FIA sanctioned an additional half-hour of testing for track familiarisation before the usual two-day WTCC meeting gets underway tomorrow.
Although the majority of the field has raced at the track before in other formula, it was the first time the drivers had driven the re-profiled Grand Prix loop, which was changed in time for last September's A1 Grand Prix meeting.
Thompson, who won two British Touring Car Championship races in April on the circuit's Indy layout, produced a lap of 1:33.744 in his SEAT Leon.
The Spanish manufacturer showed it will be a force to be reckoned with this weekend, with four of its cars in the top five runners.
Only the Alfa Romeo 156 of Augusto Farfus was able to mix it among the Leons with the second quickest time, just 0.192 seconds behind Thompson. However, he was shown a black and white driving standards flag for cutting the course at the Dingle Dell curve.
Former BTCC champions Yvan Muller and Rickard Rydell were third and fourth quickest around the 2.6-mile circuit, ahead of SEAT teammate Peter Terting.
The quickest BMW was only in sixth place, with Jorg Muller's BMW Team Germany car beating the BMW Team Italy-Spain machine of Alex Zanardi.
Tom Coronel topped the independent runners with the ninth quickest time overall in his GR Asia Leon.
Reigning World Champion Andy Priaulx didn't have the best of starts to his home round, taking a quick trip through the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend in his BMW 320si. Privateer BMW driver Marcel Costa repeated the feat minutes later.
The session was briefly interrupted early on because of a red flag shown for an off by BMW privateer Diego Romanini.
Pos Driver Make Time Laps 1. James Thompson SEAT Leon 1:33.744 13 2. Augusto Farfus Alfa Romeo 156 1:33.936 + 0.192 14 3. Yvan Muller SEAT Leon 1:34.131 + 0.387 14 4. Rickard Rydell SEAT Leon 1:34.270 + 0.526 12 5. Peter Terting SEAT Leon 1:34.511 + 0.767 13 6. Jorg Muller BMW 320si 1:34.582 + 0.838 17 7. Alessandro Zanardi BMW 320si 1:34.583 + 0.839 17 8. Alain Menu Chevrolet Lacetti 1:34.641 + 0.897 11 9. Tom Coronel SEAT Leon 1:34.779 + 1.035 16 10. Andy Priaulx BMW 320si 1:34.812 + 1.068 15 11. Salvatore Tavano Alfa Romeo 156 1:34.874 + 1.130 17 12. Robert Huff Chevrolet Lacetti 1:35.048 + 1.304 14 13. Marcel Costa BMW 320si 1:35.066 + 1.322 15 14. Gianni Morbidelli Alfa Romeo 156 1:35.139 + 1.395 14 15. Jordi Gene SEAT Leon 1:35.173 + 1.429 13 16. Gabriele Tarquini SEAT Leon 1:35.178 + 1.434 15 17. Nicola Larini Chevrolet Lacetti 1:35.244 + 1.500 16 18. Dirk Muller BMW 320si 1:35.358 + 1.614 17 19. Pierre-Yves Corthals Honda Accord Euro R 1:35.878 + 2.134 16 20. Luca Rangoni BMW 320si 1:36.079 + 2.335 14 21. Ryan Sharp Honda Accord Euro R 1:36.284 + 2.540 15 22. Maurizio Ceresoli SEAT Toledo Cupra 1:36.771 + 3.027 16 23. Emmet O'brien BMW 320i 1:36.879 + 3.135 18 24. Stefano D'aste BMW 320i 1:37.295 + 3.551 10 25. Diego Romanini BMW 320i 1:38.609 + 4.865 15
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