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In less than ideal weather conditions, BMW Dealer Team UK driver Jackson shattered last year’s pole position time with a best lap in 1m24.385s. It is the fastest BTCC lap time ever officially recorded around Rockingham’s 1.9-mile International Super Sportscar lay-out that will be used for the venue’s BTCC race meeting in a month’s time (12-13 April).

Team RAC drivers Colin Turkington and Stephen Jelley, like Jackson also driving BMW 320sis, both came close to ending the day fastest. Turkington, second overall in the end, was at the top of the order until Jackson went quicker with the day’s final lap. Prior to that newcomer Jelley, who wound up fourth outright, had enjoyed a long spell at the head of the times.

Only reigning champion Fabrizio Giovanardi – twice a winner here 11 months ago – was able to get in among the leading BMWs with the third fastest time in his Vauxhall Vectra VXR.

Full times are available from this link: http:/www.tsl-timing.com/toca/2008/81141trg.pdf

On his public BTCC debut, 18-year-old Andrew Jordan also starred with the fifth fastest time in his John Guest Racing Honda Integra – close to 6/10ths of a second up on father Mike in the squad’s identical car.

Other new driver-team-car combinations also fared well: Tom Chilton was sixth fastest in Team Halfords’ Honda Integra, Matt Allison seventh in Robertshaw Racing’s Chevrolet Lacetti (a car new to the BTCC in 2008) and championship newcomer Steven Kane eighth in Motorbase’s BMW 320si.

Meanwhile, many eyes were on SEAT’s pair of Leons driven by Jason Plato and Darren Turner – the cars are the first entered by a manufacturer in the BTCC to be powered by diesel engines. This was also the very first experience of running the TDi motors for the SEAT Sport UK squad: Plato’s engine suffered a minor oil leak which curtailed his running before Turner later took the track in his own car.