Chilton on top in second practise

Tom Chilton headed second HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship practice at Thruxton – a circuit around which he has always revelled – but there were problems for series leader Fabrizio Giovanardi.

Chilton, second fastest to Giovanardi in first practice, set the pace with a best lap of 1m18.383s – almost matching the Italian’s best from the morning’s session.

Team-mate Gordon Shedden (1m18.516s) was second to make it a Team Halfords 1-2, although the Scot needed to nurse his car back to the pit lane with a punctured left front tyre. And the same problem, as it had in session one, also afflicted Giovanardi’s Vectra VXR and he was forced to park up at the far side of the track. He wound up an eventual 11th overall.

Third, finding a huge improvement in time – almost a second – was Team BMW Dealer UK driver Mat Jackson (1m18.622s), the winner of last year’s final round here. Darren Turner’s Leon TDI, Tom Onslow-Cole’s Vauxhall Vectra VXR and Colin Turkington’s Team RAC BMW 320si completed the top six.

Less than a second this time covered the top 12 – rare for Thruxton due to its unique nature, but nevertheless further underlining the competitiveness of this year’s field.

Having effectively missed this morning’s session, Motorbase’s Steven Kane this time enjoyed a trouble-free run and was 13th fastest.

Harry Vaulkhard added to his offs in session one with another grassy excursion which cost him valuable time as his Robertshaw crew cleared his Chevrolet Lacetti’s radiator. Team-mate Alan Taylor also stopped at the side of the circuit with a suspected puncture on his Honda Integra.