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British Touring Car Championship
Croft - Free Practice - 23/6/12

By MJP Media | 23 June 2012

Honda dominate the first free practice session from Croft Circuit however Jason Plato goes fastest in the second session.

Jason Plato goes fastest in the free practice sessions
Jason Plato goes fastest in the free practice sessions

Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire provides the venue for the 5th meeting of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. The heavy rain which was forecast for Saturday morning failed to arrive however there was a constant light rain as the cars took to the track for the first of the free practice sessions.

Honda Civics took the top 3 places in the first free practice session with Andrew Jordan posting the fastest time for Pirtek Racing. Behind Jordan, Honda Yuasa Racing Team's Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal were 2nd and 3rd. After the Hondas, Dave Newsham in the Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra was the fastest in 4th place ahead of Rob Collard's eBay Motors BMW 320si in 5th and Jason Plato 6th in the MG KX Momentum Racing MG6.

Gordon Shedden - 2nd fastest in both practice sessions
Gordon Shedden - 2nd fastest in both practice sessions

In the 2nd free practice session it was Jason Plato who topped the time sheets however the Hondas were not far behind as Gordon Shedden once again posted the 2nd fastest time. Rob Collard improved on his 1st session position with 3rd fastest in the 2nd session. Matt Neal was 4th fastest while Andrew Jordan fell to 5th. Mat Jackson completed the top 6 in his Redstone Racing Ford Focus.

A familiar face returned to the BTCC paddock at Croft Circuit as Paul O'Neill took over the Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Avensis usually driven by Tony Hughes who has other commitments on race day. O'Neill has modest expectations saying "There are more unknowns than knowns for me as I haven't driven the Toyota, I haven't driven an NGTC car and there is the turbo engine so it will be difficult to start with but I'll get quicker as the weekend goes on.". He continued: "My target is to run in the midfield but obviously the dream, as ever, is to finish on the podium. Although that is possible, I know it will be massive long shot." Unfortunately, O'Neill's car suffered from a misfire in the first practice session, putting him down in 21st place. His problems persisted in the second session when he failed to complete a timed lap.

Andrew Jordan was top in the 1st session but 5th in the 2nd
Andrew Jordan was top in the 1st session but 5th in the 2nd

The next BTCC action from Croft Circuit is the qualifying session to determine the grid for the first race tomorrow.

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