TOURING CARS: Hughes goes faster (From Northwich Guardian)

Speedworks Motorsport car is faster in second free practice session

2:25pm Saturday 4th June 2011 in Motorsport By Andrew Simpson

A RED flag halted Tony Hughes’ progress in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship’s second free practice session at Oulton Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Knutsford driver, behind the wheel of Speedworks Motorsport’s Toyota Avensis, lowered his best time in the morning in back-to-back circuits before the on-track action was stopped to retrieve the damaged car of a rival.

His best lap – a 1:32.030 – is four tenths of a second faster than earlier in the day.

“We’re closing the gap [to the others],” said team principal Christian Dick.

“That’s what we’ll continue to aim to do in qualifying later.”

Hughes’ time placed him 22st on the timesheet, half a second slower than next best Chris James (Team ES Racing) in his Chevrolet Lacetti.

He did return to the track for a further five laps, but could not improve further.

Further up the field, points standings’ leader Matt Neal (Honda Team Racing) was the only driver to set a sub-1:28 time in the 40-minutes session.

Alex MacDowell (Silverline Chevrolet) and reigning champion Jason Plato completed the top three with Widnes ace Paul O’Neill fourth fastest.

A 40-minutes qualifying session, to determine the grid for Sunday’s race opener, starts at 3.15pm.