Chris Smiley led James Dorlin for a Restart Racing 1-2 in the British Touring Car Championship Free Practice session at Thruxton.
A gorgeous Hampshire morning greeted the drivers for their Free Practice session around the high-speed 2.35 miles of Thruxton.
And, in the theme of the summer break, another driver change took place ahead of the session. On short notice, Senna Proctor stepped in for Sam Osborne at NAPA Racing UK due to the latter withdrawing from the weekend.
Proctor piloted his #18 Ford Focus to P14, while WSR new man Lewis Gilbert took P21 and Ryan Bensley placed P17 in his first Speedworks Corolla outing.
As in typical tin-top fashion, the session started slowly as drivers used the singular practice session to fine-tune their setups and scrub through sets of tyres.
However, the times started to become competitive with 30 minutes to go.
Dan Cammish took to the top with a 1:16.163 after Chris Smiley set the first benchmark time of 1:16.606. Josh Cook, Proctor, Ricky Collard, and Mikey Doble would then pip the Restart Racing man’s benchmark.
Tom Ingram also put himself amongst the fastest pack with a 1:16.508 for P4, while Ash Sutton flew to the top with a 1:16.066. The NAPA man would then improve further to a 1:15.724 before most returned to the pits.
Smiley and James Dorlin both improved significantly in their Restart Hyundai, jumping to P2 and P3 with a pair of laps under the 1:16 mark before returning to the pit lane with 15 minutes to go.
The Ford Focus of Cammish would then return to the front, with a 1:15.900 placing him second. Adam Morgan followed with a lap to join the leading set – a 1:16.071 for P5.
With 10 to go, Smiley jumped further with a 1:15.434 to fly three tenths ahead of Sutton, but was shown the black flag for excessive track limits violations a lap later. Dorlin would follow his teammate into P2 soon after, with Restart Racing showing convincing pace in the Hampshire sun.
As the session reached its close, Mikey Doble, Árón Taylor-Smith, and Cook would push back towards the front – but no driver disrupted the pair of Restart Hyundais at the head of the field.
BTCC Thruxton Free Practice Results
| Position | Driver | Team | Best Lap Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chris Smiley | Restart Racing | 1:15.365 |
| 2. | James Dorlin | Restart Racing | 1:15.458 |
| 3. | Ashley Sutton | NAPA Racing UK | 1:15.724 |
| 4. | Mikey Doble | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | 1:15.877 |
| 5. | Josh Cook | Speedworks Corolla Racing | 1:15.890 |
| 6. | Árón Taylor-Smith | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | 1:15.898 |
| 7. | Dan Cammish | NAPA Racing UK | 1:15.900 |
| 8. | Tom Ingram | Team Vertu | 1:15.912 |
| 9. | Adam Morgan | Cataclean Plato Racing | 1:16.071 |
| 10. | Gordon Shedden | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | 1:16.120 |
| 11. | Daniel Rowbottom | Cataclean Plato Racing | 1:16.148 |
| 12. | Ricky Collard | Team Vertu | 1:16.173 |
| 13. | Charles Rainford | WSR | 1:16.293 |
| 14. | Senna Proctor | NAPA Racing UK | 1:16.357 |
| 15. | Tom Chilton | Team Vertu | 1:16.447 |
| 16. | Daryl De Leon | WSR | 1:16.511 |
| 17. | Ryan Bensley | Speedworks Corolla Racing | 1:16.619 |
| 18. | Aiden Moffat | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | 1:16.826 |
| 19. | Lewis Selby | NAPA Racing UK | 1:17.028 |
| 20. | Dexter Patterson | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | 1:17.291 |
| 21. | Lewis Gilbert | WSR | 1:17.619 |
| 22. | Nicolas Hamilton | Team Vertu | 1:17.956 |
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