Some of the BTCC's big names have hit the ground running in the opening practice sessions of the new season at Donington Park, with four-time champion Colin Turkington setting the fastest time overall.
NAPA Racing UK's Ash Sutton had already set a lap record breaking time during the opening session, but Team BMW's Turkington responded this afternoon by dipping a further 0.024s under that benchmark.
Dan Rowbottom (NAPA Racing UK) and Jake Hill (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport) both backed up their stablemates pace by setting the second and third fastest times respectively.
Tom Chilton performed well in his BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 Hyundai to take fourth, whilst Sutton settled for fifth in FP2.
Ricky Collard had an encouraging late run in the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK's Corolla to take sixth, ahead of Team BMW's Adam Morgan and NAPA Racing UK's Dan Cammish.
Tom Ingram left it late to set his first representative time following technical problems with his Hyundai i30N earlier in the day, but the reigning champion could only manage ninth on the timesheets.
Daniel Lloyd (Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils) enjoyed a solid top ten following his off-season switch to Team HARD Cupra machinery.
Qualifying for Round 1 of the 2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship commences at 1540 and will be streamed LIVE via the ITV Sport YouTube page from 1535.
Today's qualifying will be one of five from ten events this season where the ‘Top Ten Showdown’ format will be deployed.
All drivers will take part in the normal 30-minute qualifying session to record their lap times. Following a short five-minute break, the fastest ten competitors will then progress to a ten-minute pole position ‘Top Ten Showdown’ session to determine the top ten places on the grid.
2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 2 – Donington Park
1. Colin Turkington, Team BMW 1:07.951s
2. Daniel Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK +0.095s
3. Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport +0.113s
4. Tom Chilton, BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 +0.147s
5. Ashley Sutton, NAPA Racing UK +0.208s
6. Ricky Collard, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK +0.270s
7. Adam Morgan, Team BMW +0.312s
8. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK +0.337s
9. Tom Ingram , BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 +0.375s
10. Daniel Lloyd, Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils + 0.568s
11. Stephen Jelley, Team BMW +0.659s
12. Sam Osborne, NAPA Racing UK +0.681s
13. Rory Butcher, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK +0.783s
14. Andrew Watson, CarStore Power Maxed Racing +0.794s
15. Ronan Pearson, BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 +0.832s
16. Árón Taylor-Smith, CarStore Power Maxed Racing +0.864s
17. George Gamble, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK +0.871s
18. Dexter Patterson, Re.Beverages and Bartercard with Team HARD +0.895s
19. Josh Cook, One Motorsport with Starline Racing +0.999s
20. Bobby Thompson, Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils +1.104s
21. Jack Butel, Go-Fix with Autoaid Breakdown +1.353s
22. Mikey Doble, CarStore Power Maxed Racing +1.482s
23. Aiden Moffat, One Motorsport with Starline Racing +1.734s
24. Nick Halstead, BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 +1.809s
25. Will Powell, One Motorsport with Starline Racing +1.923s
26. Nic Hamilton, Go-Fix with Autoaid Breakdown +2.043s
27. Jade Edwards, Re.Beverages and Bartercard with Team HARD +2.648s