23/07/2010 - The LPG-powered Ford Focus of Tom Chilton stormed to the top of the timesheets at an official mid-season test for the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton yesterday (Thursday), ahead of the BTCC's annual visit to Norfolk on 7/8 August.
The day was divided into two three-hour test sessions, the second of which was interrupted by heavy rainfall. However, Chilton set his best lap of the day on a drying track to the dramatic backdrop of lightning bolts in the distance, heading the field by a commanding half second margin.
"I was struggling for pace in the morning but we worked hard on our brakes and front geometry settings and it turned things around for us," Chilton told btcc.net. "It's a shame it rained as that meant I've missed out on doing a race run, so I'm still a little nervous about our form. Maybe it's something I'll have to focus on during free practice when we're back here in a couple of weeks for the race weekend."
Silverline Chevrolet's Alex MacDowall set the second quickest time of the day in the morning, before an engine failure brought his Snetterton test to an early close.
Paul O'Neill steered his Sunshine.co.uk-backed Honda Integra to an impressive third quickest position on a shortened testing programme, ahead of MacDowall's team-mate and championship front-runner Jason Plato - whose main title rival Honda Racing's Matt Neal was absent from the test.
The Triple Eight Vauxhall Vectra of James Nash finished fifth fastest ahead of Andrew Jordan's Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra.
Chilton's team-mate Tom Onslow-Cole could only manage seventh on the timesheets after an off-track excursion early in the day left his Team Aon Ford Focus with front end damage.
Mat Jackson was the fastest BMW runner after steering his Airwaves-backed machine to eighth position.
Sixteen runners took part in the test, which was interrupted by two red flags - the first when Shaun Hollamby's AmD Milltek VW Golf stopped out on circuit with an electrics failure and the second to recover MacDowall's Chevrolet.
The BTCC will be back on track on 7/8 August at Snetterton following a six week summer break.
Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, Snetterton, official test:
1. Tom Chilton (Team Aon Ford Focus), 1m11.40s
2. Alex MacDowall (Silverline Chevrolet Cruze), +0.550s
3. Paul O'Neill (Sunshine.co.uk Honda Integra), +0.563s
4. Jason Plato (Silverline Chevrolet Cruze), +0.566s
5. James Nash (Triple Eight Vauxhall Vectra), +0.712s
6. Andrew Jordan (Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra), +0.998s
7. Tom Onslow-Cole (Team Aon Ford Focus), +1.150s
8. Mat Jackson (Airwaves BMW 320si), +1.261s
9. Robert Collard (WSR BMW 320si), +1.307s
10. Steven Kane (Airwaves BMW 320si), +1.666s
11. Andy Neate (WSR BMW 320si), +1.956s
12. John George (Sunshine.co.uk Honda Integra), +2.568s
13. Shaun Hollamby (AmD Milltek Racing.com Volkswagen Golf), +2.849s
14. Arthur Forster (Forster Motorsport BMW 320si), +3.058s
15. Martin Depper (Forster Motorsport BMW 320si), +3.576s
16. Martin Johnson (Boulevard Team Racing Vauxhall Astra), +4.451s
Tickets for the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton on 7/8 August are available from £24 for adults, with free entry for children aged 12 and under. For more information call 0870 950 9000 or click on the link below.
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