Matt Neal tamed treacherous conditions to top the second Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship free practice session at Oulton Park.
The heavens opened shortly after the morning’s first practice session at the Cheshire circuit, leaving the tarmac still saturated as the second 40-minute session got underway.
Times were therefore around 10 seconds slower than those seen earlier in the day, several drivers trading the top spot as conditions continued to change.
James Cole had held the top spot for much of the session, but the Team BMR Subaru Levorg GT was soon usurped of that mantle by Halfords Yuasa Racing‘s Neal in the final quarter of the session.
Neal survived several moments in the wet conditions, while team-mate Gordon Shedden was less fortunate as he left the road at Druids at the halfway stage.
Behind Neal, Cole was 0.249s adrift of the Honda Civic Type-R man, West Surrey Racing‘s Colin Turkington and Rob Collard next up for BMW.
Ashley Sutton ensured two Subarus were inside the top five, Jason Plato making it three in the top 10 as he finished ninth overall. Sixth went to MG’s Dan Lloyd, Josh Cook again shining in the tricky conditions as he finished seventh for maximum Motorsport.
Andrew Jordan (BMW) was next up ahead of Plato, while Jeff Smith rounded out the top 10 for Eurotech Racing.
Shedden’s damage was cosmetic, finishing 21st with qualifying approaching at 15:50.
Photo: BTCC Media
