Ollie Jackson was the fastest driver in the second of two days of testing for the British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton, but his lap wasn’t enough to deny Motorbase team-mate Tom Chilton, whose time on Tuesday was the quickest of all.
Jackson posted a lap of 1 minute 56.290 seconds in the Wednesday morning session, but the lap was a tenth and a half slower than Chilton had gone in the morning the day before, leaving Jackson third in the combined classification for the two days of testing.
“To be honest we really gave it some out there,” said Chilton. “We’re obviously testing different compounds and set-ups, but this is a real chance for us to push forwards with the car.
“We had a pre-season test in Spain but the conditions weren’t great there, so this is a vital few days in preparation for the rest of the season.”
Jackson was optimistic after topping Wednesday’s times, even though he acknowledged that claiming bragging rights in a test session was of limited benefit.
“It has been a really productive test,” said Jackson. “We’ve learnt a lot and written some things off too, but we seem to be in good shape for the remainder of the year.
“We haven’t really been rewarded with the results we’ve deserved so far this season. We have had some bad luck and made a few minor errors that have been unduly punished, so overall we just haven’t had the rub of the green.
“Of course, topping the times in testing doesn’t win you any points, but it’s a good feeling and a great boost ahead of the event here in a few weeks’ time.”
Honda’s Dan Cammish was again second quickest, although the Yorkshireman’s time was also slower than he had been on Tuesday, when his lap was good enough for second overall.
Adam Morgan went third fastest on Wednesday (fifth overall), a further two tenths back, ahead of HMS Racing’s Rob Austin, who took part in the two-day test despite the team not having a full-season entry.
Sam Tordoff was fifth in his AmD Honda, just over three tenths off the pace and slower than he had been on Tuesday, when his time was good enough for fourth overall in the combined classification.
As well as the BTCC regulars and Austin, a further three drivers not taking part in the full season participated in the test. Henry Neal got behind the wheel of one of Team Dynamics’ Honda Civics, posting the 27th quickest time on Wednesday, whilst Max Coates continued in the Team HARD Volkswagen CC and ended up 28th, just ahead of Ethan Hammerton in another CC in 29th.
Aiden Moffat continued to work on the set-up of the Infiniti Q50 which Laser Tools Racing has developed since it last competed in the BTCC, but the Scot was just 30th, more than 3.5 seconds off the pace after 42 laps.
The next rounds of the BTCC take place at Snetterton on 3-4 August.
Combined Wednesday testing times
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 48 | Ollie JACKSON |  |
Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher | Ford Focus RS | 54 | 1:56.290 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 27 | Dan CAMMISH | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 54 | 1:56.330 | 0.040 |
| 3 | 33 | Adam MORGAN | |
Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 21 | 1:56.544 | 0.254 |
| 4 | 20 | Rob AUSTIN | |
HMS Racing | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | 52 | 1:56.556 | 0.266 |
| 5 | 600 | Sam TORDOFF | |
Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid / RCIB Insurance | Honda Civic Type R | 57 | 1:56.646 | 0.356 |
| 6 | 24 | Jake HILL | |
TradePriceCars.com | Audi S3 | 76 | 1:56.725 | 0.435 |
| 7 | 31 | Jack GOFF | |
RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport | Volkswagen CC | 47 | 1:56.736 | 0.446 |
| 8 | 80 | Tom INGRAM | |
Team Toyota GB with Ginsters | Toyota Corolla | 47 | 1:56.899 | 0.609 |
| 9 | 303 | Matt SIMPSON | |
Simpson Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 49 | 1:56.911 | 0.621 |
| 10 | 1 | Colin TURKINGTON | |
Team BMW | BMW 330i M Sport | 49 | 1:57.096 | 0.806 |
| 11 | 11 | Jason PLATO | |
Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 51 | 1:57.130 | 0.840 |
| 12 | 25 | Matt NEAL | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 36 | 1:57.281 | 0.991 |
| 13 | 12 | Stephen JELLEY | |
Team Parker Racing | BMW 125i M Sport | 65 | 1:57.321 | 1.031 |
| 14 | 9 | Rob COLLARD | |
Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 65 | 1:57.373 | 1.083 |
| 15 | 41 | Carl BOARDLEY | |
RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport | Volkswagen CC | 37 | 1:57.378 | 1.088 |
| 16 | 3 | Tom CHILTON | |
Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher | Ford Focus RS | 80 | 1:57.442 | 1.152 |
| 17 | 77 | Andrew JORDAN | |
BMW Pirtek Racing | BMW 330i M Sport | 46 | 1:57.451 | 1.161 |
| 18 | 15 | Tom OLIPHANT | |
Team BMW | BMW 330i M Sport | 49 | 1:57.467 | 1.177 |
| 19 | 116 | Ashley SUTTON | |
Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg | 65 | 1:57.515 | 1.225 |
| 20 | 18 | Senna PROCTOR | |
Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg | 70 | 1:57.759 | 1.469 |
| 21 | 32 | Daniel ROWBOTTOM | |
Cataclean Racing with Ciceley Motorsport | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 68 | 1:57.947 | 1.657 |
| 22 | 28 | Nicolas HAMILTON | |
ROKiT Racing with Motorbase | Ford Focus RS | 71 | 1:58.065 | 1.775 |
| 23 | 4 | Sam OSBORNE | |
Exceler8 Motorsport | MG6 | 70 | 1:58.222 | 1.932 |
| 24 | 8 | Mark BLUNDELL | |
TradePriceCars.com | Audi S3 | 77 | 1:58.311 | 2.021 |
| 25 | 37 | Rob SMITH | |
Exceler8 Motorsport | MG6 | 68 | 1:58.391 | 2.101 |
| 26 | 777 | Michael CREES | |
GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct | Volkswagen CC | 56 | 1:58.973 | 2.683 |
| 27 | 42 | Henry NEAL | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 28 | 1:59.038 | 2.748 |
| 28 | 91 | Max COATES | |
GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct | Volkswagen CC | 45 | 1:59.051 | 2.761 |
| 29 | 23 | Ethan HAMMERTON | |
GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct | Volkswagen CC | 36 | 1:59.787 | 3.497 |
| 30 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | |
Laser Tools Racing | Infiniti Q50 | 42 | 1:59.960 | 3.670 |