MG’s Jason Plato finished the second British Touring Car Championship free practice session at Rockingham as the fastest driver, ending the session a comfortable 0.409 seconds faster than Pirtek Racing’s Andrew Jordan.
Plato went to the top of the times almost immediately in the 40 minute session, posting a time of 1:22.907 on his first proper run before immediately improving to a 1:22.803 after 12 minutes. The MG driver then stayed on top for the remainder of the session.
Reigning champion Jordan finished the session in second, splitting the MGs with Sam Tordoff third fastest.
Following his sixth fastest time in first practice, Speedworks’ Tom Ingram went even better in second practice, posting the fourth fastest time to be within half a second of Plato.
Árón Smith was fifth fastest and the top BMR Volkswagen driver, with the Irishman improving his time late in the session. Northern Irishman Colin Turkington was sixth fastest and the top rear-wheel drive runner, 0.494 seconds off the pace.
Marc Hynes ensured all three MGs ended the session in the top ten in seventh, ahead of Honda’s Gordon Shedden, WIX Racing’s Adam Morgan and Airwaves Racing’s Mat Jackson.
The session was red-flagged for around ten minutes early on after Team BMR’s Jack Goff lost a wheel going through turn one and eventually stopped on the exit of the Tarzan Hairpin. Despite the damage, Goff was later able to re-join the session and ended up with the 16th best time, ahead of team-mate Alain Menu in 17th.
Qualifying takes place at 15:40 BST and is broadcast live at www.itv.com/btcc .
Top ten times
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 99 | M | Jason PLATO |  |
MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save | MG6 | 12 | 1:22.803 | |
| 2 | 1 | I | Andrew JORDAN | |
Pirtek Racing | Honda Civic | 18 | 1:23.212 | 0.409 |
| 3 | 88 | M | Sam TORDOFF | |
MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save | MG6 | 8 | 1:23.261 | 0.458 |
| 4 | 80 | I | Tom INGRAM | |
Speedworks Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 16 | 1:23.262 | 0.459 |
| 5 | 40 | I | Árón SMITH |  |
CHROME Edition Restart Racing | Volkswagen CC | 15 | 1:23.265 | 0.462 |
| 6 | 5 | I | Colin TURKINGTON | |
eBay Motors | BMW 125i M Sport | 15 | 1:23.297 | 0.494 |
| 7 | 888 | I | Marc HYNES | |
Quantel Bifold Racing | MG6 | 16 | 1:23.373 | 0.570 |
| 8 | 52 | M | Gordon SHEDDEN | |
Honda Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Tourer | 14 | 1:23.414 | 0.611 |
| 9 | 33 | I | Adam MORGAN | |
WIX Racing | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 15 | 1:23.531 | 0.728 |
| 10 | 6 | I | Mat JACKSON | |
Airwaves Racing | Ford Focus ST | 15 | 1:23.666 | 0.863 |