BTCC: Vauxhall Mondello test

Vauxhall Astra Coupes filled the top three places in the official British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) test session at Mondello Park circuit near Dublin on Friday (June 15), despite carrying an extra weight penalty. Championship leader Yvan Muller topped the times in his Vauxhall Motorsport car ahead of James Thompson driving an Egg Sport Astra Coupe. Jason Plato set third fastest time in the wet one-hour session, which gave both drivers and teams their first look at this new circuit on the BTCC calendar.

"We learned as much as we could from the test, but in wet track conditions its difficult to make accurate decisions about the Astra Coupe's performance," said Derek Warwick, Triple Eight Race Engineering's Vauxhall Motorsport team manager. "In these sort of conditions its more down to the driver than the car when it comes to lap times. We've got the cars loaded up with 90kg of ballast, so we've taken our medicine and we're doing the best we can with it."

-Vauxhall