Árón Smith was fastest in the second British Touring Car Championship practice session at Thruxton, ahead of the Honda of Matt Neal and Triple Eight’s Jack Goff.
Smith moved to the top of the timing screens after a red flag was shown to recover the Proton of Dan Welch, who had pulled off at the exit of the chicane after breaking his front-left suspension.
There was a slow start to the session but times eventually began to tumble when Gordon Shedden posted a 1:19.117s, which Sam Tordoff duly usurped with a 1:18.448s. The pair both improved a lap later but Shedden’s time at the top was brief as team-mate Neal then went fastest on a 1:19.495s.
With another quiet spell after, the track was then thrown into complete silence as Welch’s car was pulled away.
With the remainder of the session reduced to quarter of an hour as it restarted, Andy Priaulx was the first to improve as he moved into third with a 1:17.747s.
That was the first of a number of faster laps, with Colin Turkington first moving into second before Smith posted his pace-setting time.
And although late improvements from Goff and Andrew Jordan shook up the top five, no one was able to challenge Smith at the top thereafter as he topped the times in his Volkswagen CC.
Jordan’s late lap moved him ahead of Priaulx who rounded out the top five, with Turkington and Shedden close behind. Eighth- and ninth-placed men Adam Morgan and Josh Cook were the last men to lap within half a second of Smith’s pace, while Jeff Smith rounded out the top ten in his Eurotech Honda Civic.
Jason Plato returned to the track after his Team BMR crew had repaired his Volkswagen CC, completing one lap without setting a time as he returned to the pits.
Top times
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 40 | Árón SMITH |  |
Team BMR | Volkswagen CC | 13 | 1:17.325 | 0.000 | |
| 2 | 25 | M | Matt NEAL |  |
Honda Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 15 | 1:17.495 | 0.170 |
| 3 | 31 | M | Jack GOFF | |
MG 888 Racing | MG 6GT | 14 | 1:17.498 | 0.173 |
| 4 | 77 | M | Andrew JORDAN | |
MG 888 Racing | MG 6GT | 11 | 1:17.533 | 0.208 |
| 5 | 111 | C | Andy PRIAULX | |
Team IHG Rewards Club | BMW 125i M Sport | 14 | 1:17.559 | 0.234 |
| 6 | 1 | Colin TURKINGTON | |
Team BMR | Volkswagen CC | 15 | 1:17.584 | 0.259 | |
| 7 | 52 | M | Gordon SHEDDEN | |
Honda Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 14 | 1:17.688 | 0.363 |
| 8 | 33 | Adam MORGAN | |
WIX Racing | Mercedes Benz A-Class | 15 | 1:17.753 | 0.428 | |
| 9 | 66 | Josh COOK | |
Power Maxed Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | 14 | 1:17.798 | 0.473 | |
| 10 | 55 | Jeff SMITH | |
Eurotech Racing | Honda Civic | 14 | 1:18.047 | 0.722 | |
| 11 | 17 | Dave NEWSHAM | |
Power Maxed Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | 16 | 1:18.110 | 0.785 | |
| 12 | 30 | Martin DEPPER | |
Eurotech Racing | Honda Civic | 15 | 1:18.129 | 0.804 | |
| 13 | 7 | C | Sam TORDOFF | |
Team JCT600 with GardX | BMW 125i M Sport | 11 | 1:18.238 | 0.913 |
| 14 | 6 | C | Rob COLLARD | |
Team JCT600 with GardX | BMW 125i M Sport | 14 | 1:18.620 | 1.295 |
| 15 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | |
Laser Tools Racing | Mercedes Benz A-Class | 18 | 1:18.671 | 1.346 |