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A breathless session saw a quite staggering 23 cars blanketed by just eight tenths of a second with positions changing at almost every moment. Such was the competitiveness that the ballast-laden VW of Jason Plato could only manage 22nd on the grid, although the double champion has cited an as yet unknown problem with his Team BMR RCIB Insurance machine. Sam Tordoff looked to have stolen pole position from under the nose of Motorbase Performances Mat Jackson, with the latter combination going for their first ever P1 in qualifying. Tordoff鈥檚 BMW 125i M Sport flashed across the line to move to the summit with just two minutes to go. Tordoff and Jackson held on to second and third, while WSR鈥檚 Rob Collard moved into fourth after recovering from an off-track excursion during one of his late flyers. Gordon Shedden who had dominated both practice sessions earlier in the day had to settle for fifth, just 0.005s off the second row pace. It could have been better for the Scotsman but one of his fastest attempts was scuppered when his Honda Yuasa Racing team-mate Matt Neal went off, bringing about one of red flag periods.
The 2012 champion shook his head as he returned to the pitlane, possibly in the knowledge that his best opportunity had been wasted. Regular Knockhill front row starter Rob Austin could only manage sixth this time around, but it still represented his best performance of the season in the Exocet AlcoSense Audi A4. Neal held on to seventh despite his spin. MG鈥檚 Andrew Jordan took eighth with his last attempt also ruined after he ran wide and into the gravel in his Pirtek-backed MG6. Ninth wouldn鈥檛 normally be something to celebrate for Colin Turkington, but the reigning champion was Team BMR RCIB Insurance鈥檚 top performer and he also maintained his record of qualifying inside the top ten of every 2015 event. Adam Morgan鈥檚 WIX Racing Mercedes was relegated to tenth by Turkington with the duo split by just 0.001s. Unbelievably close gaps continued throughout the order with the likes of Snetterton race winner Jack Goff, Aron Smith and Plato. He continued: 鈥淚t鈥檚 dangerous to expect anything, I knew coming into the weekend that we鈥檇 be strong, but to be fair I鈥檝e had to get my head around the circuit, it鈥檚 been a long time since I raced here!
A few things have changed, the kerbs are different through the chicane for example which makes a big difference. The track was going up and down in grip level, and while it didn鈥檛 drop massively it was pretty greasy and in those conditions it鈥檚 very easy to make a mistake. I knew that we had to be out there and get that free lap, and we stole it right at the end which is mega really. Gordon Shedden made it a significant double in the second practice session as the Scotsman fired out a warning ahead of this afternoon鈥檚 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship qualifying session. It鈥檚 important that we do it when it matters though and that鈥檚 in qualifying. It鈥檚 going okay but I鈥檓 sure the others will find some time too. It was another Honda one-two in the second practice session, but maybe not the combination you will have expected as the Independent Eurotech-run Honda Civic of Jeff Smith claimed second. Smith topped FP2 for much of the running but also had to recover from an off-track moment on the very next lap after setting his benchmark.
Despite dropping to second at the finish, Smith was delighted with his progress. I鈥檓 really pleased with that, he enthused. I had a bit of a scary moment at the jump after having an off but we won鈥檛 dwell on that. The pace is in the car but I actually think there鈥檚 more to come from me so that bodes well for this afternoon. Smith wasn鈥檛 the only driver to return to the track relatively unscathed after a spin as both the Honda of Matt Neal and Ford Focus of Alex Martin also endured moments during the session. West Surrey Racing again showed well in third, fifth and seventh respectively with championship challenger Sam Tordoff getting the better of his more experienced team-mates Andy Priaulx and Rob Collard. Mat Jackson and Andrew Jordan proved that they鈥檒l be in the mix again this afternoon with solid top six results in practice. Adam Morgan, Jason Plato and Tom Ingram. Morgan again left it late to fire his Mercedes A-Class up the order while Plato鈥檚 Team BMR RCIB Insurance squad admits it may not be setting the ultimate pace this weekend. Speedworks again broke into the leading ten with Ingram, but its achilles heel seems to be getting much beyond that. Qualifying will determine whether Ingram can haul his Toyota Avensis into the fight for a top six grid berth.
