Adam Morgan led a Ciceley Motorsport Mercedes 1-2 in first practice for the British Touring Car Championship season finale at Brands Hatch, with team-mate Aiden Moffat two tenths behind.
Morgan went to the top of the times approximately half-way through the 45-minute session, putting in a lap of 1 minute 31.961 seconds to edge out early pace-setter Mike Epps and Subaru’s Ash Sutton.
As the session continued, Morgan was then bettered by his Ciceley team-mate Moffat, who put his A-Class in first after 35 minutes had elapsed with an effort of 1:31.923.
However with just over two minutes still to run Morgan then went back to the times with a lap of 1:31.698 to reign supreme at the end of the first BTCC action of the weekend.
Behind second-placed Moffat, Eurotech Racing’s Brett Smith was third fastest, just under three tenths off the pace, and Árón Taylor-Smith put his MG in fourth fastest with an impressive lap that was just 0.318 seconds off the pace.
Speedworks Motorsport’s Tom Ingram, who is vying for third overall in the drivers’ championship standings, was fifth fastest, ahead of Motorbase’s Mat Jackson in sixth.
Honda’s Gordon Shedden, who is in a battle with Ingram for third in the standings, was seventh fastest, ahead of a strong showing by BTC Norlin Racing’s Dave Newsham in eighth.
Championship challenger Ash Sutton was the best of the Subarus in ninth, with BMW’s Andrew Jordan completing the top ten. Sutton’s title rival Colin Turkington ended the session in 15th, some seven tenths off the pace and just over two tenths slower than Sutton.
There were no significant issues for any drivers, which took place on a cool and dry track, with the sun just starting to break through the Kent skies towards the end of the session.
Second practice takes place at 12:05 BST.
Session results
POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
1 | 33 | Adam MORGAN | Ciceley Motorsport | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 20 | 1:31.698 | 0.000 | |
2 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | Laser Tools Racing | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 19 | 1:31.923 | 0.225 | |
3 | 39 | Brett SMITH | Eurotech Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 19 | 1:31.991 | 0.293 | |
4 | 40 | Árón TAYLOR-SMITH | MG Racing RCIB Insurance | MG6GT | 17 | 1:32.016 | 0.318 | |
5 | 80 | Tom INGRAM | Speedworks Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 10 | 1:32.022 | 0.324 | |
6 | 3 | Mat JACKSON | Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo | Ford Focus | 15 | 1:32.122 | 0.424 | |
7 | 52 | Gordon SHEDDEN | Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 16 | 1:32.150 | 0.452 | |
8 | 17 | Dave NEWSHAM | BTC Norlin Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | 19 | 1:32.176 | 0.478 | |
9 | 116 | Ashley SUTTON | Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | 14 | 1:32.203 | 0.505 | |
10 | 77 | Andrew JORDAN | BMW Pirtek Racing | BMW 125i M Sport | 16 | 1:32.272 | 0.574 | |
11 | 12 | Mike EPPS | Autoaid / RCIB Insurance Racing | Volkswagen CC | 18 | 1:32.274 | 0.576 | |
12 | 11 | Rob AUSTIN | Handy Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 19 | 1:32.335 | 0.637 | |
13 | 99 | Jason PLATO | Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | 16 | 1:32.379 | 0.681 | |
14 | 6 | Rory BUTCHER | Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo | Ford Focus | 19 | 1:32.403 | 0.705 | |
15 | 4 | Colin TURKINGTON | Team BMW | BMW 125i M Sport | 16 | 1:32.416 | 0.718 | |
16 | 31 | Jack GOFF | Eurotech Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 20 | 1:32.504 | 0.806 | |
17 | 20 | James COLE | Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | 19 | 1:32.522 | 0.824 | |
18 | 303 | Matt SIMPSON | Simpson Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 20 | 1:32.531 | 0.833 | |
19 | 18 | Senna PROCTOR | Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 15 | 1:32.655 | 0.957 | |
20 | 24 | Jake HILL | TAG Racing | Volkswagen CC | 16 | 1:32.676 | 0.978 | |
21 | 10 | Ant WHORTON-EALES | AmDtuning.com with Cobra Exhausts | Audi S3 | 17 | 1:32.745 | 1.047 | |
22 | 25 | Matt NEAL | Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 16 | 1:32.799 | 1.101 | |
23 | 22 | Chris SMILEY | BTC Norlin Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | 19 | 1:32.836 | 1.138 | |
24 | 7 | Stephen JELLEY | Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport | Ford Focus | 20 | 1:32.913 | 1.215 | |
25 | 30 | Martin DEPPER | Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo | Ford Focus | 18 | 1:32.959 | 1.261 | |
26 | 5 | Rob COLLARD | Team BMW | BMW 125i M Sport | 17 | 1:32.967 | 1.269 | |
27 | 66 | Josh COOK | MG Racing RCIB Insurance | MG6GT | 14 | 1:33.030 | 1.332 | |
28 | 48 | Ollie JACKSON | AmDtuning.com with Cobra Exhausts | Audi S3 | 17 | 1:33.049 | 1.351 | |
29 | 2 | Tom CHILTON | Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 14 | 1:33.120 | 1.422 | |
30 | 28 | Josh PRICE | A-Plan Academy | Subaru Levorg GT | 18 | 1:33.613 | 1.915 | |
31 | 95 | Stewart LINES | Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport | Ford Focus | 20 | 1:34.795 | 3.097 |