NAPA Racing UK's Dan Rowbottom topped the opening Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship free practice session at Knockhill with drying conditions bringing about improved lap times in the closing minutes.
A drizzly and windy morning greeted the top 20 cars and stars in British motorsport with NAPA Racing UK also enjoying their initial runs, as Ash Sutton led the way on Goodyear wet rubber in the opening 20 minutes.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK's Rob Huff was the first to punch in a representative lap time on slick tyres in the final ten minutes, as a flurry of lap times changed the look of the FP1 leaderboard.
When the spray cleared and the chequered flag waved it was Rowbottom leading the way from championship leader Tom Ingram, the Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS will carry the minimum available hybrid for qualifying later this afternoon.
Sutton was the final driver to cross the line on a flying lap and it was good enough for third, relegating Team BMW's Colin Turkington and Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing's Árón Taylor-Smith to fourth and fifth respectively.
Tom Chilton - fresh from his victory last time out at Croft - was sixth in his #3 Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS Hyundai.
The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing duo of Andrew Watson and Huff were next in the order, ahead of LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ stablemate Aiden Moffat – the first of the two local heroes on the grid.
Moffat's team-mate Josh Cook rounded out the top ten, just behind Team BMW's Adam Morgan.
FP2 commences at 1205 before Qualifying for Round 19 of the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship commences at at 1520. Qualifying will also be streamed LIVE via the ITV Sport YouTube channel.
Knockhill - Free Practice 1 - Final Classification
P/ | No/ | Name/ | Entry/ | Laps/ | Time/ | Gap/ | On/ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 32 | Daniel ROWBOTTOM | NAPA Racing UK | 26 | 51.885 | 25 | |
2 | 80 | Tom INGRAM | Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS | 22 | 52.093 | 0.208 | 20 |
3 | 1 | Ashley SUTTON | NAPA Racing UK | 27 | 52.159 | 0.274 | 27 |
4 | 20 | Colin TURKINGTON | Team BMW | 26 | 52.174 | 0.289 | 25 |
5 | 40 | Árón TAYLOR-SMITH | Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing | 23 | 52.249 | 0.364 | 22 |
6 | 3 | Tom CHILTON | Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS | 25 | 52.292 | 0.407 | 23 |
7 | 11 | Andrew WATSON | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK | 21 | 52.322 | 0.437 | 20 |
8 | 12 | Rob HUFF | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK | 26 | 52.346 | 0.461 | 25 |
9 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ | 24 | 52.375 | 0.490 | 24 |
10 | 33 | Adam MORGAN | Team BMW | 26 | 52.391 | 0.506 | 26 |
11 | 66 | Josh COOK | LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ | 21 | 52.422 | 0.537 | 21 |
12 | 27 | Dan CAMMISH | NAPA Racing UK | 25 | 52.436 | 0.551 | 25 |
13 | 14 | Ronan PEARSON | Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS | 23 | 52.778 | 0.893 | 21 |
14 | 88 | Mikey DOBLE | Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing | 22 | 53.003 | 1.118 | 22 |
15 | 18 | Daryl DELEON | Duckhams Racing With Bartercard | 21 | 53.037 | 1.152 | 21 |
16 | 24 | Jake HILL | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | 21 | 55.062 | 3.177 | 9 |
17 | 222 | Chris SMILEY | Restart Racing | 20 | 56.049 | 4.164 | 5 |
18 | 77 | Sam OSBORNE | NAPA Racing UK | 23 | 56.367 | 4.482 | 6 |
19 | 29 | Scott SUMPTON | Restart Racing | 20 | 57.331 | 5.446 | 7 |
20 | 22 | Nick HALSTEAD | Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS | 15 | 57.448 | 5.563 | 13 |