Brands Hatch BTCC: Jason Plato fastest in first 2014 session
Jason Plato topped the first British Touring Car session of the 2014 season at Brands Hatch, which was affected by a pitlane incident
Plato moved to the top of the times after a red flag, caused when Rob Collard's WSR engineer Craig Parley appeared to fall off the pitwall.
He was taken away in an ambulance, but is believed to have suffered injuries no worse than a dislocated knee.
Colin Turkington lifted the WSR squad in the final 15 minutes by snatching second, but could not better Plato's 48.354s. That was a fraction faster than Andrew Jordan's pole time from 2013.
Reigning champion Jordan had set the early pace, once drivers started setting competitive times, and ended up third.
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Matt Neal improved late on in the new Honda Civic Tourer, making it four former champions in the top four.
Best of the rest was Adam Morgan's new Mercedes A-class, which was up near the top of the timesheets throughout the session.
Ex-champions Alain Menu (BMR VW Passat) and Gordon Shedden (Civic Tourer) also made it into the top 10, but Motorbase struggled. Both Mat Jackson and 2007/08 champion Fabrizio Giovanardi ended up in the teens, while BTCC rookie Jack Clarke was 24th.
With Dan Welch's Proton not being ready in time and the sister car of Ollie Jackson hitting trouble, 29 cars took to the track. The top 22 were covered by one second.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Jason Plato MG 48.354s 2. Colin Turkington WSR BMW 48.530s +0.176s 3. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Honda 48.557s +0.203s 4. Matt Neal Honda 48.627s +0.273s 5. Adam Morgan Ciceley Mercedes 48.684s +0.330s 6. Aron Smith BMR VW 48.783s +0.429s 7. Rob Collard WSR BMW 48.787s +0.433s 8. Sam Tordoff MG 48.809s +0.455s 9. Gordon Shedden Honda 48.865s +0.511s 10. Alain Menu BMR VW 48.884s +0.530s 11. Rob Austin RAR Audi 48.937s +0.583s 12. Jack Goff BMR Vauxhall 48.957s +0.603s 13. Tom Ingram Speedworks Toyota 48.962s +0.608s 14. Warren Scott BMR Vauxhall 49.053s +0.699s 15. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford 49.067s +0.713s 16. Fabrizio Giovanardi Motorbase Ford 49.111s +0.757s 17. Nick Foster WSR BMW 49.117s +0.763s 18. Marc Hynes MG 49.178s +0.824s 19. Glynn Geddie UA Toyota 49.195s +0.841s 20. Hunter Abbott RAR Audi 49.263s +0.909s 21. James Cole UA Toyota 49.282s +0.928s 22. Martin Depper Eurotech Honda 49.343s +0.989s 23. Dave Newsham AmD Ford 49.534s +1.180s 24. Jack Clarke Motorbase Ford 49.592s +1.238s 25. Robb Holland Rotek Audi 49.914s +1.560s 26. Simon Belcher Speedworks Toyota 50.142s +1.788s 27. Lea Wood Houseman Toyota 50.190s +1.836s 28. Aiden Moffat Moffat Chevrolet 51.455s +3.101s 29. Chris Stockton BTC Chevrolet 1m44.644s +56.290s
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