Power Maxed Racing have come out the blocks flying with their Audi S3 Saloon as Dexter Patterson and Mikey Doble claimed the fastest times in the morning session.
Doble sat atop of the standings for the majority of the session with an impressive time of 47.553s. Patterson left it late to put in a competative time and ended the session 0.079 off his teammate. Aiden Moffat also had a strong showing as he also found a strong time late on in the session. The Scottish driver finished with the eigth quickest laptime.
Toyota impress early in morning running
All four Toyota Corolla’s set some great laptimes in the first session. Aron Taylor-Smith managed to get his Laser Tools sponsored Corolla into third position whilst also completing 60 laps. Josh Cook wasn’t far behind ATS as he achieved the fifth fastest time. Josh Cook and Max Buxton’s cars were unveiled late yesterday and look brilliant!
Gordon Shedden found some strong laptimes late on in the morning and finished in ninth position. Whilst Max Buxton finished with the 17th quickest time which he will hope to build on in the afternoon.
James Dorlin had a brilliant session in his Restart Racing Hyundai as he claimed fourth position. His experienced teammate Chris Smiley finished in seventh place. A strong first showing for Restart.
Rowbottom had an impressive display for Plato Racing, setting the sixth fastest time on the medium compound of tyre.
NAPA Racing putting in impressive mileage
The NAPA Racing team clocked plenty of laps in the morning session. Lewis Selby had the fastest time of their four drivers which earned him 10th position. The BTCC rookie achieved that time over 76 tours of the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. His teammate Dan Cammish was just behind him in 11th. He had 62 laps to his name come the chequered flag. Four time champion Ash Sutton also crossed the 70 lap mark in the morning but only had the 14th quickest time. Sam Osbourne completed 59 laps with the 19th fastest time.
Early reliability concerns for Hyundai
Both red flags in the morning session were both caused by faults to Hyundai’s. Nicholas Hamilton caused the first red flag as he stopped out on circuit. Tom Chilton also stopped out on track with just under an hour to go. New signing Ricky Collard also only completed one lap in the morning session. He didn’t compete in the Croft test so he will desperately be looking to get some mileage under his belt in the afternoon. Troubling signs for the EXCELR8 team early on.
There are three hours of running before the teams turn their attention to the first race of the season at Donington Park. If you are looking for live updates on the afternoon session, we are covering it live!
Main image credit: Michael Jolley
