Colin Turkington was the fastest man in today’s (Tuesday August 5) British Touring Car Championship Dunlop tyre test at Snetterton, with youngster Aiden Moffat recording the second fastest time.
Championship leader Turkington – who heads off on his honeymoon tomorrow – posted a best time of 1:57.048s in the afternoon session, a time that was a-tenth-and-a-half quicker than Jason Plato’s fastest lap of the weekend from the recent race meeting at the Norfolk circuit.
With 19 drivers posting times throughout the day, there was plenty of opportunity for teams to garner important data ahead of the remaining four rounds of the 2014 season, as well as getting the chance to test tyre supplier Dunlop’s 2015 compound for the first time.
But as teams took the opportunity to test various components, set-ups and fuel loads, laps times were not necessarily representative of each car’s true pace.
Moffat’s second place on the timesheets – a 1:57.349s, also set in the afternoon session – was nevertheless an impressive performance from the 17-year-old in his Laser Tools Racing Chevrolet Cruze, as he continued to receive tutoring from former BTCC driver Tom Onslow-Cole.
Tom Ingram was third fastest in his Speedworks Toyota, posting a fastest time of 1:57.634s in the morning session.
The day also provided rising star Jake Hill with another opportunity to get his hands on BTCC machinery, as he shared the AmD Tuning Ford Focus with regular driver Dave Newsham. 20–year-old Hill completed 19 laps on his way to the 15th fastest time (1:59.461s), 0.3s slower than Newsham, who spent much of the day focusing on set-up work.
The MG and Pirtek Racing teams were notable absentees from the test, with the next race meeting in two weeks’ time at Knockhill in Scotland.
Combined times
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 5 | I | Colin TURKINGTON |  |
eBay Motors | BMW 125i M Sport | 98 | 1:57.048 | |
| 2 | 16 | I | Aiden MOFFAT | |
Laser Tools Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | 53 | 1:57.349 | 0.301 |
| 3 | 80 | I | Tom INGRAM | |
Speedworks Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 85 | 1:57.634 | 0.586 |
| 4 | 9 | I | Alain MENU |  |
CHROME Edition Restart Racing | Volkswagen CC | 54 | 1:57.901 | 0.853 |
| 5 | 75 | I | Adam MORGAN | |
WIX Racing | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 62 | 1:57.969 | 0.921 |
| 6 | 40 | I | Árón SMITH |  |
CHROME Edition Restart Racing | Volkswagen CC | 57 | 1:58.133 | 1.085 |
| 7 | 6 | I | Mat JACKSON | |
Airwaves Racing | Ford Focus ST | 87 | 1:58.296 | 1.248 |
| 8 | 52 | M | Gordon SHEDDEN | |
Honda Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Tourer | 62 | 1:58.299 | 1.251 |
| 9 | 7 | I | Fabrizio GIOVANARDI |  |
Airwaves Racing | Ford Focus ST | 64 | 1:58.383 | 1.335 |
| 10 | 4 | M | Matt NEAL | |
Honda Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Tourer | 53 | 1:58.415 | 1.367 |
| 11 | 39 | I | Warren SCOTT | |
CHROME Edition Restart Racing | Volkswagen CC | 62 | 1:58.432 | 1.384 |
| 12 | 31 | I | Jack GOFF | |
CHROME Edition Restart Racing | Volkswagen CC | 65 | 1:58.530 | 1.482 |
| 13 | 101 | I | Rob AUSTIN | |
Exocet Racing | Audi A4 | 87 | 1:58.973 | 1.925 |
| 14 | 17 | I | Dave NEWSHAM | |
AmD Tuning.com | Ford Focus ST | 62 | 1:59.120 | 2.072 |
| 15 | 117 | I | Jake HILL | |
AmD Tuning.com | Ford Focus ST | 19 | 1:59.461 | 2.413 |
| 16 | 11 | I | Simon BELCHER | |
Handy Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 63 | 1:59.911 | 2.863 |
| 17 | 54 | I | Hunter ABBOTT | |
Alcosense Breathalysers Racing | Audi A4 | 106 | 2:00.106 | 3.058 |
| 18 | 12 | I | Daniel WELCH | |
STP Racing with Sopp & Sopp | Proton Persona | 24 | 2:00.908 | 3.860 |
| 19 | 48 | I | Ollie JACKSON | |
STP Racing with Sopp & Sopp | Proton Persona | 6 | 2:04.256 | 7.208 |