Aiden Moffat’s Audi was a class apart at a cloudy Oulton Park, topping the charts in the British Touring Car Championship‘s Free Practice session.
While Saturday started with some heavy rain in Cheshire, support running dried the line just enough for the field to practice on slick tyres.
However, a damp spirit still would have been present for James Dorlin. Ian Watson docked the Restart Racing driver five Drivers’ Championship points due to exceeding the engine limit on Saturday morning.
Despite this, it was his #132 that topped the early charts. Dexter Patterson, Snetterton hero Nic Hamilton, and Charles Rainford followed close behind in the 1:27s.
With 20 minutes to go, those setting competitive laps started to pick up the pace.
Dorlin improved to a 1:26.066, while Rainford, Aiden Moffat, and Mikey Doble joined him in the 1:26s.
But, the Audi pair of Moffat and Doble would quickly improve to mid-1:25s efforts. Dorlin improved again to follow behind, with Rainford and Daryl De Leon joining the fastest five.
With 10 to go, the times had fallen further, and most of the field had set representative laps.
Dan Cammish topped the charts with a 1:24.846, amidst unconfirmed rumours of NAPA Racing UK being handed an engine restriction.
De Leon followed only a few hundredths behind, with Ash Sutton leading a pack of low 1:25s runners behind.
This included Árón Taylor-Smith, looking for a much-needed response after a disappointing Snetterton, and seat-threatened Ricky Collard.
With five minutes remaining, only Tom Chilton and Tom Ingram were yet to set a representative time. The former had started the session on a wet setup, and lost time tinkering in the pits.
However, both would quickly set laps to place them P3 and P6 respectively.
Dorlin would usurp Cammish by less than two hundredths with minutes do go, with the Toyota Corolla looking a formidable foe in the hands of its three drivers.
Though, his place at the top would not last long. Moffat moved up eleven places with a 1:24.213, putting himself six tenths clear.
Chilton then jumped one further by pipping Dorlin with a 1:24.346, still over a tenth behind the leading Audi. Chris Smiley would then rocket himself up the charts with two quick laps at the flag, rounding out the fastest three.
Doble followed behind, with Sutton just a few hundredths behind. Dorlin, Cammish, Dexter Patterson, Ingram, and De Leon would all round out the top 10 with near-identical times.
Collard took P11 with the last sub-1:25 lap, as Taylor-Smith and Cook set laps just one thousandth apart.
Rainford finished P14, with Snetterton victor Gordon Shedden rounding out the fastest 15 ahead of qualifying.
Max Buxton missed the session due to a viral infection.
BTCC Oulton Park Free Practice Results
| Position | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Aiden Moffat | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | |
| 2. | Tom Chilton | Team Vertu | +0.133 |
| 3. | Chris Smiley | Restart Racing | +0.230 |
| 4. | Mikey Doble | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +0.341 |
| 5. | Ashley Sutton | NAPA Racing UK | +0.371 |
| 6. | James Dorlin | Restart Racing | +0.615 |
| 7. | Dan Cammish | NAPA Racing UK | +0.633 |
| 8. | Dexter Patterson | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | +0.635 |
| 9. | Tom Ingram | Team Vertu | +0.674 |
| 10. | Daryl De Leon | WSR | +0.685 |
| 11. | Ricky Collard | Team Vertu | +0.736 |
| 12. | Árón Taylor-Smith | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +0.841 |
| 13. | Josh Cook | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +0.842 |
| 14. | Charles Rainford | WSR | +0.935 |
| 15. | Gordon Shedden | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +0.953 |
| 16. | Adam Morgan | Cataclean Plato Racing | +1.068 |
| 17. | Daniel Rowbottom | Cataclean Plato Racing | +1.224 |
| 18. | Sam Osborne | NAPA Racing UK | +1.439 |
| 19. | Lewis Selby | NAPA Racing UK | +1.591 |
| 20. | Nicolas Hamilton | Team Vertu | +2.278 |
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