1

The Best Supercars of All Times

BMW M235i

The car itself is a throwback, its genetic code expressing something that has gone nearly dormant in the last generation of small BMWs. The company is aware of this. It has even advertised this two-door model as the spiritual successor to the 2002, the model that predated the original 3 series.
With all due respect, BMW is wrong about that. The 2002 is too far back in the rapidly evolving car world to share much of its character or size with any new car. Modern BMW compacts are larger and more thickly padded animals, both in physical dimensions and in the broad scale of their market appeal. The M235i instead reverts to the same general plan as the E46 M3 of the early 2000s. That’s back to a time, in other words, when our adoration for BMWs was at its most unabashed.

Cadillac CTS

The third-generation CTS builds on the ATS’s Alpha foundation with larger wheelbase and track dimensions. To optimize mass efficiency and to achieve a [near] 50-50 weight distribution, we created over 40,000 analysis models. We specified aluminum for most of the front components, positioned the battery at the rear of the car, and counted every gram to gain a 200- to 300-pound weight advantage, Leone adds. We targeted both the E90 [2006-2013] BMW 3-series and the current 5-series. When the 5 got heavier, our task became easier.

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

When the first Corvettes rolled out of the primordial postwar haze in 1953, they were far from fully evolved. By all accounts, the shoddy, fiberglass-bodied sports car was headed for extinction just as quickly as its meager six-cylinder engine and two-speed automatic transmission could carry it. But then Chevrolet installed its first small-block up front. Thusly and successfully mutated, the Corvette’s genetic code has remained stable for 60 years. With few exceptions, the venerable Vette has always been a powerful V-8 plastic-wrapped with only whatever additional engineering was necessary.

Ford Mustang GT

Imagine an enormous pyramid of glass spheres, perfectly balanced. Pull just one of those interdependent orbs from the base of that pyramid and the entire thing comes crashing down. In any complex system, a single change can have devastating consequences.
Or it can send things in the opposite direction. During the development of the 2015 Mustang, one move set off a chain reaction that irreversibly altered the Mustang for the better. Granted, it was a big change: swapping out the old solid rear axle for an independent one. Partially derived from the aluminum and steel components supporting the tail of Ford’s Fusion sedan, the Mustang’s new inde pendent suspension brings unprecedented refinement unprecedented for a Mustang, anyway.

Honda Accord

There is a veil of sameness draped over the Accord that comes from racking up 300,000 to 400,000 annual sales, year after year. Who would imagine that such an exceptional car could be hiding in plain sight, mimicking a lowest-common-denominator family appliance? Many Accord owners are unable, or do not care, to spot what makes their car better than the rest. Most just get in and drive. But that hasn’t stopped Honda from treating its bestseller like a flagship. Indeed, they are one and the same.

Mazda 6

It’s pretty much impossible to talk about car design without sounding pretentious. This is probably the main reason professional car designers tend to wear turtleneck sweaters and space-age eyewear and jackets with too many buttons (or, occasionally, none at all); a uniform of mild ridiculousness to match this vocation of affected divination. So when Mazda tells us that the 6’s Kodo design language represents the muscular beauty of an animal pouncing, or that it takes its inspiration from the living athletic forms of nature, our first instinct if we can manage not to snicker is to smile and nod politely. Yes. Sure. It’s a fine-looking car can we leave it at that?

Porsche Boxster / Cayman

We put an $80,000 base-price cap on 10Best contenders because, when it comes to building cars, money can solve most problems. As price rises beyond that mark, the number of bad cars approaches zero and the difference between great and merely good becomes increasingly trivial. You could say a similar thing about mid-engined cars. Put the power behind the driver and it’s hard to get it wrong.

That explains why it can seem unfair to drive Porsche’s Boxster and Cayman back to back with 50-some other cars that are led by their horses. The mid-engined Porsche twins are so fundamentally different from the competition that considering them for a 10Best nod feels as if we’ve shattered our price ceiling most of their architectural analogues cost three and four times as much.

Tesla Model S 60

It starts with the battery. Tesla’s is the best in the business, with 50 percent higher energy density by weight than the next closest EV competitor’s (Nissan Leaf). Though really, the Model S doesn’t have competitors, at least not directly. Because the battery offers so much capacity, the Model S needn’t compromise its mission with a bulky gas-powered range extender. You’ve heard the rationale behind Tesla’s purity movement: Having a single propulsion element, the motor, allows for more battery cells, which extends electric range, obviating the need for a Plan B, the internal-combustion engine.

2

Hottest New Cars at Detroit

BMW M235i

The car itself is a throwback, its genetic code expressing something that has gone nearly dormant in the last generation of small BMWs. The company is aware of this. It has even advertised this two-door model as the spiritual successor to the 2002, the model that predated the original 3 series.
With all due respect, BMW is wrong about that. The 2002 is too far back in the rapidly evolving car world to share much of its character or size with any new car. Modern BMW compacts are larger and more thickly padded animals, both in physical dimensions and in the broad scale of their market appeal. The M235i instead reverts to the same general plan as the E46 M3 of the early 2000s. That’s back to a time, in other words, when our adoration for BMWs was at its most unabashed.

Cadillac CTS

The third-generation CTS builds on the ATS’s Alpha foundation with larger wheelbase and track dimensions. To optimize mass efficiency and to achieve a [near] 50-50 weight distribution, we created over 40,000 analysis models. We specified aluminum for most of the front components, positioned the battery at the rear of the car, and counted every gram to gain a 200- to 300-pound weight advantage, Leone adds. We targeted both the E90 [2006-2013] BMW 3-series and the current 5-series. When the 5 got heavier, our task became easier.

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

When the first Corvettes rolled out of the primordial postwar haze in 1953, they were far from fully evolved. By all accounts, the shoddy, fiberglass-bodied sports car was headed for extinction just as quickly as its meager six-cylinder engine and two-speed automatic transmission could carry it. But then Chevrolet installed its first small-block up front. Thusly and successfully mutated, the Corvette’s genetic code has remained stable for 60 years. With few exceptions, the venerable Vette has always been a powerful V-8 plastic-wrapped with only whatever additional engineering was necessary.

Ford Mustang GT

Imagine an enormous pyramid of glass spheres, perfectly balanced. Pull just one of those interdependent orbs from the base of that pyramid and the entire thing comes crashing down. In any complex system, a single change can have devastating consequences.
Or it can send things in the opposite direction. During the development of the 2015 Mustang, one move set off a chain reaction that irreversibly altered the Mustang for the better. Granted, it was a big change: swapping out the old solid rear axle for an independent one. Partially derived from the aluminum and steel components supporting the tail of Ford’s Fusion sedan, the Mustang’s new inde pendent suspension brings unprecedented refinement unprecedented for a Mustang, anyway.

Honda Accord

There is a veil of sameness draped over the Accord that comes from racking up 300,000 to 400,000 annual sales, year after year. Who would imagine that such an exceptional car could be hiding in plain sight, mimicking a lowest-common-denominator family appliance? Many Accord owners are unable, or do not care, to spot what makes their car better than the rest. Most just get in and drive. But that hasn’t stopped Honda from treating its bestseller like a flagship. Indeed, they are one and the same.

Mazda 6

It’s pretty much impossible to talk about car design without sounding pretentious. This is probably the main reason professional car designers tend to wear turtleneck sweaters and space-age eyewear and jackets with too many buttons (or, occasionally, none at all); a uniform of mild ridiculousness to match this vocation of affected divination. So when Mazda tells us that the 6’s Kodo design language represents the muscular beauty of an animal pouncing, or that it takes its inspiration from the living athletic forms of nature, our first instinct if we can manage not to snicker is to smile and nod politely. Yes. Sure. It’s a fine-looking car can we leave it at that?

Porsche Boxster / Cayman

We put an $80,000 base-price cap on 10Best contenders because, when it comes to building cars, money can solve most problems. As price rises beyond that mark, the number of bad cars approaches zero and the difference between great and merely good becomes increasingly trivial. You could say a similar thing about mid-engined cars. Put the power behind the driver and it’s hard to get it wrong.

That explains why it can seem unfair to drive Porsche’s Boxster and Cayman back to back with 50-some other cars that are led by their horses. The mid-engined Porsche twins are so fundamentally different from the competition that considering them for a 10Best nod feels as if we’ve shattered our price ceiling most of their architectural analogues cost three and four times as much.

Tesla Model S 60

It starts with the battery. Tesla’s is the best in the business, with 50 percent higher energy density by weight than the next closest EV competitor’s (Nissan Leaf). Though really, the Model S doesn’t have competitors, at least not directly. Because the battery offers so much capacity, the Model S needn’t compromise its mission with a bulky gas-powered range extender. You’ve heard the rationale behind Tesla’s purity movement: Having a single propulsion element, the motor, allows for more battery cells, which extends electric range, obviating the need for a Plan B, the internal-combustion engine.

3

TVR Stages a More Credible Comeback

A breathless session saw a quite staggering 23 cars blanketed by just eight tenths of a second with positions changing at almost every moment. Such was the competitiveness that the ballast-laden VW of Jason Plato could only manage 22nd on the grid, although the double champion has cited an as yet unknown problem with his Team BMR RCIB Insurance machine. Jason Plato, right after the race:

“Something fundamental has happened TODAY because it was a completely different car to the one we had in free practice”

Sam Tordoff looked to have stolen pole position from under the nose of Motorbase Performance’s Mat Jackson, with the latter combination going for their first ever P1 in qualifying. Tordoff’s BMW 125i M Sport flashed across the line to move to the summit with just two minutes to go.

p1
First 6 Line-up

Tordoff and Jackson held on to second and third, while WSR’s Rob Collard moved into fourth after recovering from an off-track excursion during one of his late flyers. Gordon Shedden who had dominated both practice sessions earlier in the day had to settle for fifth, just 0.005s off the second row pace. It could have been better for the Scotsman but one of his fastest attempts was scuppered when his Honda Yuasa Racing team-mate Matt Neal went off, bringing about one of red flag periods. The 2012 champion shook his head as he returned to the pitlane, possibly in the knowledge that his best opportunity had been wasted.

Regular Knockhill front row starter Rob Austin could only manage sixth this time around, but it still represented his best performance of the season in the Exocet AlcoSense Audi A4. Neal held on to seventh despite his spin.

p4
Andrew Jordan – MG

MG’s Andrew Jordan took eighth with his last attempt also ruined after he ran wide and into the gravel in his Pirtek-backed MG6.

Ninth wouldn’t normally be something to celebrate for Colin Turkington, but the reigning champion was Team BMR RCIB Insurance’s top performer and he also maintained his record of qualifying inside the top ten of every 2015 event. Adam Morgan’s WIX Racing Mercedes was relegated to tenth by Turkington with the duo split by just 0.001s. Unbelievably close gaps continued throughout the order with the likes of Snetterton race winner Jack Goff, Aron Smith and Plato among the notable absentees from the top ten.

Plato was another to abort his last flyer attempt following a trip through the gravel and the double champion had to settle for the lowest grid position in his BTCC career the championship leader will have it all to do from 22nd on the grid. Plato has suggested, however, that he’ll likely start from the pitlane as he did at Croft earlier this season in a bid to grab pole position for race two.

It was a tough session, there was only a very short window to squeeze the lap TIME I NEEDED”

He continued: “It’s dangerous to expect anything, I knew coming into the weekend that we’d be strong, but to be fair I’ve had to get my head around the circuit, it’s been a long time since I raced here! A few things have changed, the kerbs are different through the chicane for example which makes a big difference. The track was going up and down in grip level, and while it didn’t drop massively it was pretty greasy and in those conditions it’s very easy to make a mistake. I knew that we had to be out there and get that free lap, and we stole it right at the end which is mega really.

Gordon Shedden made it a significant double in the second practice session as the Scotsman fired out a warning ahead of this afternoon’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship qualifying session.

p3

I think there’s still a little more to come from the car too.

he said. It’s important that we do it when it matters though and that’s in qualifying. It’s going okay but I’m sure the others will find some time too. Honda Yuasa Racing’s Shedden became the first and only driver to break the 52 second barrier in either of the practice sessions and now his Civic Type R, which shed some success ballast coming into the event, looks in particularly good shape for the weekend.

It was another Honda one-two in the second practice session, but maybe not the combination you will have expected as the Independent Eurotech-run Honda Civic of Jeff Smith claimed second. Smith topped FP2 for much of the running but also had to recover from an off-track moment on the very next lap after setting his benchmark.

Despite dropping to second at the finish, Smith was delighted with his progress. I’m really pleased with that, he enthused. I had a bit of a scary moment at the jump after having an off but we won’t dwell on that. The pace is in the car but I actually think there’s more to come from me so that bodes well for this afternoon.

p2
Jeff Smith Runner Up

Smith wasn’t the only driver to return to the track relatively unscathed after a spin as both the Honda of Matt Neal and Ford Focus of Alex Martin also endured moments during the session.

West Surrey Racing again showed well in third, fifth and seventh respectively with championship challenger Sam Tordoff getting the better of his more experienced team-mates Andy Priaulx and Rob Collard.

Mat Jackson and Andrew Jordan proved that they’ll be in the mix again this afternoon with solid top six results in practice.

Adam Morgan, Jason Plato and Tom Ingram completed the top ten order, but with all three facing different challenges. Morgan again left it late to fire his Mercedes A-Class up the order while Plato’s Team BMR RCIB Insurance squad admits it may not be setting the ultimate pace this weekend. Speedworks again broke into the leading ten with Ingram, but its achilles heel seems to be getting much beyond that. Qualifying will determine whether Ingram can haul his Toyota Avensis into the fight for a top six grid berth.

4

2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

A breathless session saw a quite staggering 23 cars blanketed by just eight tenths of a second with positions changing at almost every moment. Such was the competitiveness that the ballast-laden VW of Jason Plato could only manage 22nd on the grid, although the double champion has cited an as yet unknown problem with his Team BMR RCIB Insurance machine. Jason Plato, right after the race:

“Something fundamental has happened TODAY because it was a completely different car to the one we had in free practice”

Sam Tordoff looked to have stolen pole position from under the nose of Motorbase Performance’s Mat Jackson, with the latter combination going for their first ever P1 in qualifying. Tordoff’s BMW 125i M Sport flashed across the line to move to the summit with just two minutes to go.

p1
First 6 Line-up

Tordoff and Jackson held on to second and third, while WSR’s Rob Collard moved into fourth after recovering from an off-track excursion during one of his late flyers. Gordon Shedden who had dominated both practice sessions earlier in the day had to settle for fifth, just 0.005s off the second row pace. It could have been better for the Scotsman but one of his fastest attempts was scuppered when his Honda Yuasa Racing team-mate Matt Neal went off, bringing about one of red flag periods. The 2012 champion shook his head as he returned to the pitlane, possibly in the knowledge that his best opportunity had been wasted.

Regular Knockhill front row starter Rob Austin could only manage sixth this time around, but it still represented his best performance of the season in the Exocet AlcoSense Audi A4. Neal held on to seventh despite his spin.

p4
Andrew Jordan – MG

MG’s Andrew Jordan took eighth with his last attempt also ruined after he ran wide and into the gravel in his Pirtek-backed MG6.

Ninth wouldn’t normally be something to celebrate for Colin Turkington, but the reigning champion was Team BMR RCIB Insurance’s top performer and he also maintained his record of qualifying inside the top ten of every 2015 event. Adam Morgan’s WIX Racing Mercedes was relegated to tenth by Turkington with the duo split by just 0.001s. Unbelievably close gaps continued throughout the order with the likes of Snetterton race winner Jack Goff, Aron Smith and Plato among the notable absentees from the top ten.

Plato was another to abort his last flyer attempt following a trip through the gravel and the double champion had to settle for the lowest grid position in his BTCC career the championship leader will have it all to do from 22nd on the grid. Plato has suggested, however, that he’ll likely start from the pitlane as he did at Croft earlier this season in a bid to grab pole position for race two.

It was a tough session, there was only a very short window to squeeze the lap TIME I NEEDED”

He continued: “It’s dangerous to expect anything, I knew coming into the weekend that we’d be strong, but to be fair I’ve had to get my head around the circuit, it’s been a long time since I raced here! A few things have changed, the kerbs are different through the chicane for example which makes a big difference. The track was going up and down in grip level, and while it didn’t drop massively it was pretty greasy and in those conditions it’s very easy to make a mistake. I knew that we had to be out there and get that free lap, and we stole it right at the end which is mega really.

Gordon Shedden made it a significant double in the second practice session as the Scotsman fired out a warning ahead of this afternoon’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship qualifying session.

p3

I think there’s still a little more to come from the car too.

he said. It’s important that we do it when it matters though and that’s in qualifying. It’s going okay but I’m sure the others will find some time too. Honda Yuasa Racing’s Shedden became the first and only driver to break the 52 second barrier in either of the practice sessions and now his Civic Type R, which shed some success ballast coming into the event, looks in particularly good shape for the weekend.

It was another Honda one-two in the second practice session, but maybe not the combination you will have expected as the Independent Eurotech-run Honda Civic of Jeff Smith claimed second. Smith topped FP2 for much of the running but also had to recover from an off-track moment on the very next lap after setting his benchmark.

Despite dropping to second at the finish, Smith was delighted with his progress. I’m really pleased with that, he enthused. I had a bit of a scary moment at the jump after having an off but we won’t dwell on that. The pace is in the car but I actually think there’s more to come from me so that bodes well for this afternoon.

p2
Jeff Smith Runner Up

Smith wasn’t the only driver to return to the track relatively unscathed after a spin as both the Honda of Matt Neal and Ford Focus of Alex Martin also endured moments during the session.

West Surrey Racing again showed well in third, fifth and seventh respectively with championship challenger Sam Tordoff getting the better of his more experienced team-mates Andy Priaulx and Rob Collard.

Mat Jackson and Andrew Jordan proved that they’ll be in the mix again this afternoon with solid top six results in practice.

Adam Morgan, Jason Plato and Tom Ingram completed the top ten order, but with all three facing different challenges. Morgan again left it late to fire his Mercedes A-Class up the order while Plato’s Team BMR RCIB Insurance squad admits it may not be setting the ultimate pace this weekend. Speedworks again broke into the leading ten with Ingram, but its achilles heel seems to be getting much beyond that. Qualifying will determine whether Ingram can haul his Toyota Avensis into the fight for a top six grid berth.

5

Top 5 Motorsport Games of 2015

BMW M235i

The car itself is a throwback, its genetic code expressing something that has gone nearly dormant in the last generation of small BMWs. The company is aware of this. It has even advertised this two-door model as the spiritual successor to the 2002, the model that predated the original 3 series.
With all due respect, BMW is wrong about that. The 2002 is too far back in the rapidly evolving car world to share much of its character or size with any new car. Modern BMW compacts are larger and more thickly padded animals, both in physical dimensions and in the broad scale of their market appeal. The M235i instead reverts to the same general plan as the E46 M3 of the early 2000s. That’s back to a time, in other words, when our adoration for BMWs was at its most unabashed.

Cadillac CTS

The third-generation CTS builds on the ATS’s Alpha foundation with larger wheelbase and track dimensions. To optimize mass efficiency and to achieve a [near] 50-50 weight distribution, we created over 40,000 analysis models. We specified aluminum for most of the front components, positioned the battery at the rear of the car, and counted every gram to gain a 200- to 300-pound weight advantage, Leone adds. We targeted both the E90 [2006-2013] BMW 3-series and the current 5-series. When the 5 got heavier, our task became easier.

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

When the first Corvettes rolled out of the primordial postwar haze in 1953, they were far from fully evolved. By all accounts, the shoddy, fiberglass-bodied sports car was headed for extinction just as quickly as its meager six-cylinder engine and two-speed automatic transmission could carry it. But then Chevrolet installed its first small-block up front. Thusly and successfully mutated, the Corvette’s genetic code has remained stable for 60 years. With few exceptions, the venerable Vette has always been a powerful V-8 plastic-wrapped with only whatever additional engineering was necessary.

Ford Mustang GT

Imagine an enormous pyramid of glass spheres, perfectly balanced. Pull just one of those interdependent orbs from the base of that pyramid and the entire thing comes crashing down. In any complex system, a single change can have devastating consequences.
Or it can send things in the opposite direction. During the development of the 2015 Mustang, one move set off a chain reaction that irreversibly altered the Mustang for the better. Granted, it was a big change: swapping out the old solid rear axle for an independent one. Partially derived from the aluminum and steel components supporting the tail of Ford’s Fusion sedan, the Mustang’s new inde pendent suspension brings unprecedented refinement unprecedented for a Mustang, anyway.

Honda Accord

There is a veil of sameness draped over the Accord that comes from racking up 300,000 to 400,000 annual sales, year after year. Who would imagine that such an exceptional car could be hiding in plain sight, mimicking a lowest-common-denominator family appliance? Many Accord owners are unable, or do not care, to spot what makes their car better than the rest. Most just get in and drive. But that hasn’t stopped Honda from treating its bestseller like a flagship. Indeed, they are one and the same.

Mazda 6

It’s pretty much impossible to talk about car design without sounding pretentious. This is probably the main reason professional car designers tend to wear turtleneck sweaters and space-age eyewear and jackets with too many buttons (or, occasionally, none at all); a uniform of mild ridiculousness to match this vocation of affected divination. So when Mazda tells us that the 6’s Kodo design language represents the muscular beauty of an animal pouncing, or that it takes its inspiration from the living athletic forms of nature, our first instinct if we can manage not to snicker is to smile and nod politely. Yes. Sure. It’s a fine-looking car can we leave it at that?

Porsche Boxster / Cayman

We put an $80,000 base-price cap on 10Best contenders because, when it comes to building cars, money can solve most problems. As price rises beyond that mark, the number of bad cars approaches zero and the difference between great and merely good becomes increasingly trivial. You could say a similar thing about mid-engined cars. Put the power behind the driver and it’s hard to get it wrong.

That explains why it can seem unfair to drive Porsche’s Boxster and Cayman back to back with 50-some other cars that are led by their horses. The mid-engined Porsche twins are so fundamentally different from the competition that considering them for a 10Best nod feels as if we’ve shattered our price ceiling most of their architectural analogues cost three and four times as much.

Tesla Model S 60

It starts with the battery. Tesla’s is the best in the business, with 50 percent higher energy density by weight than the next closest EV competitor’s (Nissan Leaf). Though really, the Model S doesn’t have competitors, at least not directly. Because the battery offers so much capacity, the Model S needn’t compromise its mission with a bulky gas-powered range extender. You’ve heard the rationale behind Tesla’s purity movement: Having a single propulsion element, the motor, allows for more battery cells, which extends electric range, obviating the need for a Plan B, the internal-combustion engine.

6

2015 Lexus GX460 Luxury

A breathless session saw a quite staggering 23 cars blanketed by just eight tenths of a second with positions changing at almost every moment. Such was the competitiveness that the ballast-laden VW of Jason Plato could only manage 22nd on the grid, although the double champion has cited an as yet unknown problem with his Team BMR RCIB Insurance machine. Jason Plato, right after the race:

“Something fundamental has happened TODAY because it was a completely different car to the one we had in free practice”

Sam Tordoff looked to have stolen pole position from under the nose of Motorbase Performance’s Mat Jackson, with the latter combination going for their first ever P1 in qualifying. Tordoff’s BMW 125i M Sport flashed across the line to move to the summit with just two minutes to go.

p1
First 6 Line-up

Tordoff and Jackson held on to second and third, while WSR’s Rob Collard moved into fourth after recovering from an off-track excursion during one of his late flyers. Gordon Shedden who had dominated both practice sessions earlier in the day had to settle for fifth, just 0.005s off the second row pace. It could have been better for the Scotsman but one of his fastest attempts was scuppered when his Honda Yuasa Racing team-mate Matt Neal went off, bringing about one of red flag periods. The 2012 champion shook his head as he returned to the pitlane, possibly in the knowledge that his best opportunity had been wasted.

Regular Knockhill front row starter Rob Austin could only manage sixth this time around, but it still represented his best performance of the season in the Exocet AlcoSense Audi A4. Neal held on to seventh despite his spin.

p4
Andrew Jordan – MG

MG’s Andrew Jordan took eighth with his last attempt also ruined after he ran wide and into the gravel in his Pirtek-backed MG6.

Ninth wouldn’t normally be something to celebrate for Colin Turkington, but the reigning champion was Team BMR RCIB Insurance’s top performer and he also maintained his record of qualifying inside the top ten of every 2015 event. Adam Morgan’s WIX Racing Mercedes was relegated to tenth by Turkington with the duo split by just 0.001s. Unbelievably close gaps continued throughout the order with the likes of Snetterton race winner Jack Goff, Aron Smith and Plato among the notable absentees from the top ten.

Plato was another to abort his last flyer attempt following a trip through the gravel and the double champion had to settle for the lowest grid position in his BTCC career the championship leader will have it all to do from 22nd on the grid. Plato has suggested, however, that he’ll likely start from the pitlane as he did at Croft earlier this season in a bid to grab pole position for race two.

It was a tough session, there was only a very short window to squeeze the lap TIME I NEEDED”

He continued: “It’s dangerous to expect anything, I knew coming into the weekend that we’d be strong, but to be fair I’ve had to get my head around the circuit, it’s been a long time since I raced here! A few things have changed, the kerbs are different through the chicane for example which makes a big difference. The track was going up and down in grip level, and while it didn’t drop massively it was pretty greasy and in those conditions it’s very easy to make a mistake. I knew that we had to be out there and get that free lap, and we stole it right at the end which is mega really.

Gordon Shedden made it a significant double in the second practice session as the Scotsman fired out a warning ahead of this afternoon’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship qualifying session.

p3

I think there’s still a little more to come from the car too.

he said. It’s important that we do it when it matters though and that’s in qualifying. It’s going okay but I’m sure the others will find some time too. Honda Yuasa Racing’s Shedden became the first and only driver to break the 52 second barrier in either of the practice sessions and now his Civic Type R, which shed some success ballast coming into the event, looks in particularly good shape for the weekend.

It was another Honda one-two in the second practice session, but maybe not the combination you will have expected as the Independent Eurotech-run Honda Civic of Jeff Smith claimed second. Smith topped FP2 for much of the running but also had to recover from an off-track moment on the very next lap after setting his benchmark.

Despite dropping to second at the finish, Smith was delighted with his progress. I’m really pleased with that, he enthused. I had a bit of a scary moment at the jump after having an off but we won’t dwell on that. The pace is in the car but I actually think there’s more to come from me so that bodes well for this afternoon.

p2
Jeff Smith Runner Up

Smith wasn’t the only driver to return to the track relatively unscathed after a spin as both the Honda of Matt Neal and Ford Focus of Alex Martin also endured moments during the session.

West Surrey Racing again showed well in third, fifth and seventh respectively with championship challenger Sam Tordoff getting the better of his more experienced team-mates Andy Priaulx and Rob Collard.

Mat Jackson and Andrew Jordan proved that they’ll be in the mix again this afternoon with solid top six results in practice.

Adam Morgan, Jason Plato and Tom Ingram completed the top ten order, but with all three facing different challenges. Morgan again left it late to fire his Mercedes A-Class up the order while Plato’s Team BMR RCIB Insurance squad admits it may not be setting the ultimate pace this weekend. Speedworks again broke into the leading ten with Ingram, but its achilles heel seems to be getting much beyond that. Qualifying will determine whether Ingram can haul his Toyota Avensis into the fight for a top six grid berth.

7

Dodge Unveils 2015 Charger Pursuit

A breathless session saw a quite staggering 23 cars blanketed by just eight tenths of a second with positions changing at almost every moment. Such was the competitiveness that the ballast-laden VW of Jason Plato could only manage 22nd on the grid, although the double champion has cited an as yet unknown problem with his Team BMR RCIB Insurance machine. Jason Plato, right after the race:

“Something fundamental has happened TODAY because it was a completely different car to the one we had in free practice”

Sam Tordoff looked to have stolen pole position from under the nose of Motorbase Performance’s Mat Jackson, with the latter combination going for their first ever P1 in qualifying. Tordoff’s BMW 125i M Sport flashed across the line to move to the summit with just two minutes to go.

p1
First 6 Line-up

Tordoff and Jackson held on to second and third, while WSR’s Rob Collard moved into fourth after recovering from an off-track excursion during one of his late flyers. Gordon Shedden who had dominated both practice sessions earlier in the day had to settle for fifth, just 0.005s off the second row pace. It could have been better for the Scotsman but one of his fastest attempts was scuppered when his Honda Yuasa Racing team-mate Matt Neal went off, bringing about one of red flag periods. The 2012 champion shook his head as he returned to the pitlane, possibly in the knowledge that his best opportunity had been wasted.

Regular Knockhill front row starter Rob Austin could only manage sixth this time around, but it still represented his best performance of the season in the Exocet AlcoSense Audi A4. Neal held on to seventh despite his spin.

p4
Andrew Jordan – MG

MG’s Andrew Jordan took eighth with his last attempt also ruined after he ran wide and into the gravel in his Pirtek-backed MG6.

Ninth wouldn’t normally be something to celebrate for Colin Turkington, but the reigning champion was Team BMR RCIB Insurance’s top performer and he also maintained his record of qualifying inside the top ten of every 2015 event. Adam Morgan’s WIX Racing Mercedes was relegated to tenth by Turkington with the duo split by just 0.001s. Unbelievably close gaps continued throughout the order with the likes of Snetterton race winner Jack Goff, Aron Smith and Plato among the notable absentees from the top ten.

Plato was another to abort his last flyer attempt following a trip through the gravel and the double champion had to settle for the lowest grid position in his BTCC career the championship leader will have it all to do from 22nd on the grid. Plato has suggested, however, that he’ll likely start from the pitlane as he did at Croft earlier this season in a bid to grab pole position for race two.

It was a tough session, there was only a very short window to squeeze the lap TIME I NEEDED”

He continued: “It’s dangerous to expect anything, I knew coming into the weekend that we’d be strong, but to be fair I’ve had to get my head around the circuit, it’s been a long time since I raced here! A few things have changed, the kerbs are different through the chicane for example which makes a big difference. The track was going up and down in grip level, and while it didn’t drop massively it was pretty greasy and in those conditions it’s very easy to make a mistake. I knew that we had to be out there and get that free lap, and we stole it right at the end which is mega really.

Gordon Shedden made it a significant double in the second practice session as the Scotsman fired out a warning ahead of this afternoon’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship qualifying session.

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I think there’s still a little more to come from the car too.

he said. It’s important that we do it when it matters though and that’s in qualifying. It’s going okay but I’m sure the others will find some time too. Honda Yuasa Racing’s Shedden became the first and only driver to break the 52 second barrier in either of the practice sessions and now his Civic Type R, which shed some success ballast coming into the event, looks in particularly good shape for the weekend.

It was another Honda one-two in the second practice session, but maybe not the combination you will have expected as the Independent Eurotech-run Honda Civic of Jeff Smith claimed second. Smith topped FP2 for much of the running but also had to recover from an off-track moment on the very next lap after setting his benchmark.

Despite dropping to second at the finish, Smith was delighted with his progress. I’m really pleased with that, he enthused. I had a bit of a scary moment at the jump after having an off but we won’t dwell on that. The pace is in the car but I actually think there’s more to come from me so that bodes well for this afternoon.

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Jeff Smith Runner Up

Smith wasn’t the only driver to return to the track relatively unscathed after a spin as both the Honda of Matt Neal and Ford Focus of Alex Martin also endured moments during the session.

West Surrey Racing again showed well in third, fifth and seventh respectively with championship challenger Sam Tordoff getting the better of his more experienced team-mates Andy Priaulx and Rob Collard.

Mat Jackson and Andrew Jordan proved that they’ll be in the mix again this afternoon with solid top six results in practice.

Adam Morgan, Jason Plato and Tom Ingram completed the top ten order, but with all three facing different challenges. Morgan again left it late to fire his Mercedes A-Class up the order while Plato’s Team BMR RCIB Insurance squad admits it may not be setting the ultimate pace this weekend. Speedworks again broke into the leading ten with Ingram, but its achilles heel seems to be getting much beyond that. Qualifying will determine whether Ingram can haul his Toyota Avensis into the fight for a top six grid berth.