Tunbridge Wells ace Jake Hill led the way in the opening Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship Free Practice session at Brands Hatch this morning (6 May).
The mixed weather conditions that played such an integral role in the opening event at Donington Park two weeks ago, have seemingly descended onto Kent with morning drizzle hanging over the 1.21-mile Indy circuit.
A damp start to proceedings gradually turned into a frantic finish with the track trying throughout the 40-minutes of running.
It was home hero Hill that timed his run just right as he hit the front ahead of NAPA Racing UK duo Ash Sutton and Dan Cammish.
"It was a nice little surprise," said Hill. "The conditions never suit us when it's like this but me and Craig [engineer] have worked extremely hard over the winter to make it a better car in those mixed conditions. As we saw in Race 3 at Donington, for the first time in a long time we were the fastest car in the rain. The cars working well, we are really pleased.
"That session was a bit of a waiting game, we just had to build and build the temperature in the slicks to get them to switch on - eventually they got there. Nice to know if it that wet again, you know what you can do."
Sutton and Cammish were both yet to set a time as the session moved into its closing stages but both immediately proved the potential of the Ford Focus, as they edged out BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8's Tom Ingram – the reigning champion also leaving it late before setting his first representative time.
Whilst those in-between conditions can often cause frustrations for teams and drivers alike, experience of such circumstances may actually prove pivotal across the weekend.
All three Team BMW cars – Colin Turkington, Adam Morgan and Stephen Jelley – were inside the top ten, whilst Dan Rowbottom also joined his NAPA Racing UK counterparts in the leading order.
Bobby Thompson (Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils) in sixth and Ricky Collard (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK) in ninth also impressed.
FP2 takes place at 12:05 before qualifying is streamed LIVE via the ITV Sport YouTube channel at 15:25.
2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 1 – Brands Hatch Indy
