Toyota GAZOO Racing UK's Ricky Collard set the pace in the final Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship Free Practice session at Knockhill, as the young charger impressively edged out ROKiT MB Motorsport's Jake Hill by just 0.010s.
"It was a pretty intense first half of the season, so it’s been good to have a bit of time off but now I’m looking forward to getting back out there," noted Collard. "Knockhill is a place that has happy memories for me, and it’s the first circuit this year where I’ve had prior racing experience in a touring car, albeit in rear wheel-drive rather than front wheel-drive.
"It’s a fun little lap – short, sharp and all twisting and turning, a real rollercoaster ride with very little margin for error, which is exactly the kind of old-school challenge I enjoy.
"We tested here back in April, which was when I felt I started to really gel with the Toyota for the first time. The Corolla’s short wheelbase should be well-suited to the tight, technical part of the lap and we focussed a lot over the summer on the way the car rides the kerbs, which is key at Knockhill – so I’m confident we should be in decent shape."
An even smaller margin – 0.003s – separated Adam Morgan (Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport) and Josh Cook (Rich Energy BTC Racing) in third and fourth, whilst the Team BMW duo of Stephen Jelley and Colin Turkington completed the top six positions.
Daniel Rowbottom rallied to seventh for Halfords Racing with Cataclean, whilst George Gamble rounded off a good day's work so far for Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport with eighth.
NAPA Racing UK's Dan Cammish and Toyota GAZOO Racing UK's Rory Butcher completed the top ten.
Qualifying for Round 16 of the 2022 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship takes place at 1530 later today with the coverage getting underway five minutes earlier via www.itv.com/btcc.
2022 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 2 – Knockhill
1. Ricky COLLARD (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK 51.283s
2. Jake HILL (GBR) ROKiT MB Motorsport +0.010s
3. Adam MORGAN (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +0.091s
4. Josh COOK (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +0.094s
5. Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.208s
6. Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team BMW +0.211s
7. Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +0.217s
8. George GAMBLE (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +0.308s
9. Dan CAMMISH (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +0.329s
10. Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK +0.336s
11. Ash HAND (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +0.376s
12. Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +0.396s
13. Ash SUTTON (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +0.410s
14. Jason PLATO (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +0.417s
15. Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.420s
16. Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +0.443s
17. Dexter PATTERSON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.467s
18. Michael CREES (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +0.504s
19. Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +0.517s
20. Árón TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +0.537s
21. Tom INGRAM (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +0.570s
22. Tom CHILTON (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +0.696s
23. Jack BUTEL (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +0.861s
24. Jade EDWARDS (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +0.890s
25. Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +0.901s
26. Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +0.917s
27. Rick PARFITT (GBR) Uptonsteel with Euro Car Parts Racing +1.248s
28. Will POWELL (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +1.471s
29. Nic HAMILTON (GBR) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +1.497s
