The opening Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship free practice session got underway at Knockhill this morning, with title contender Tom Ingram topping the times.
The Team VERTU star proved to be the cream of the crop early on, but arguably the bigger story was that of Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing hitting the track in a competitive session.
The devastating fire that destroyed PMR’s facility, including both of its Vauxhall Astras, which took place just a week ago, has dominated the BTCC landscape this week. The huge reaction that followed, coupled with the incredible work from Adam Weaver and his PMR team, has led to the emotional scenes of two Cupra being readied for the weekend.
Mikey Doble and Nick Halstead completed 28 laps between them in their new machines during FP1, with the former just over a second off the ultimate pace.
As mentioned, it was Ingram setting that benchmark as he comfortably outshone NAPA Racing UK's Dan Rowbottom and Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport's Jake Hill.
"Really good," said Ingram. "You never quite know what to expect here because it's just such an anomaly of a circuit from what we're used to, but it's always such an enjoyable circuit to come to. It's a good start and the car is in a nice place."
"We'll keep working on it, there's always tweaks and improvements to make, but we still need to find more ahead of qualifying."
There was some local cheer inside the top ten as Gordon Shedden (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA) and Aiden Moffat (LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR) ended up sixth and seventh respectively, with the full and final classification listed below.
Free Practice 2 takes place at 12:05, whilst qualifying for Round 19 of the 2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will commence at 15:00 and will be streamed LIVE via ITV YouTube channel.
2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Knockhill – Free Practice 1 – Classification:
| P/ | No/ | Name/ | Entry/ | Laps/ | Time/ | Gap/ | On/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 80 | Tom INGRAM | Team VERTU | 18 | 51.087 | 13 | |
| 2 | 32 | Daniel ROWBOTTOM | NAPA Racing UK | 21 | 51.309 | 0.222 | 11 |
| 3 | 1 | Jake HILL | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | 18 | 51.322 | 0.235 | 11 |
| 4 | 40 | Árón TAYLOR-SMITH | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA | 17 | 51.448 | 0.361 | 11 |
| 5 | 116 | Ashley SUTTON | NAPA Racing UK | 14 | 51.482 | 0.395 | 9 |
| 6 | 52 | Gordon SHEDDEN | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA | 18 | 51.522 | 0.435 | 14 |
| 7 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR | 21 | 51.626 | 0.539 | 12 |
| 8 | 27 | Dan CAMMISH | NAPA Racing UK | 19 | 51.718 | 0.631 | 14 |
| 9 | 33 | Adam MORGAN | Team VERTU | 17 | 51.729 | 0.642 | 10 |
| 10 | 22 | Chris SMILEY | Restart Racing | 15 | 51.758 | 0.671 | 9 |
| 11 | 18 | Senna PROCTOR | Team VERTU | 17 | 51.931 | 0.844 | 11 |
| 12 | 17 | Dexter PATTERSON | ROKiT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport | 18 | 51.957 | 0.870 | 16 |
| 13 | 99 | Charles RAINFORD | LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR | 17 | 51.985 | 0.898 | 10 |
| 14 | 2 | Daryl DELEON | WSR | 18 | 52.002 | 0.915 | 12 |
| 15 | 3 | Tom CHILTON | Team VERTU | 18 | 52.011 | 0.924 | 14 |
| 16 | 123 | Daniel LLOYD | Restart Racing | 16 | 52.028 | 0.941 | 11 |
| 17 | 132 | James DORLIN | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA | 18 | 52.044 | 0.957 | 12 |
| 18 | 88 | Mikey DOBLE | Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing | 15 | 52.228 | 1.141 | 12 |
| 19 | 77 | Sam OSBORNE | NAPA Racing UK | 18 | 52.245 | 1.158 | 11 |
| 20 | 19 | Max BUXTON | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA | 21 | 52.919 | 1.832 | 15 |
| 21 | 28 | Nicolas HAMILTON | Powder Monkey Brewing Co with Esidock | 5 | 53.783 | 2.696 | 4 |
| 22 | 50 | Nick HALSTEAD | Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing | 13 | 54.283 | 3.196 | 12 |
