BTC Racing's Josh Cook set the fastest lap of the weekend so far as the chequered flag fell at the end of Free Practice 2 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park.
The Cheshire circuit has largely been covered in cloud throughout Saturday, with regular rain intervals also interrupting proceedings, but the sun finally began to shine during FP2 as conditions improved throughout the 40 minutes of running.
Halfords Yuasa Racing's Dan Cammish was topping the charts until the closing moments, as both he and Cook proved the prowess of the Honda Civic Type R Fk8 around the 2.23-mile Island circuit.
Rory Butcher's impressive start to the season continued in the new Motorbase Performance Ford Focus with third, as does Chris Smiley's campaign in the new Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai – the latter ending up fourth in the order.
Power Maxed Car Care Racing has enjoyed a great return to action so far as Mike Bushell followed up his timesheet topping performance in FP1, with a top five in dry conditions on his second run.
"I was a little nervous with a new car, at a circuit I haven’t been to in two years and with ballast," said Bushell. "It worked out perfectly, with the rain easing off and staying out on slicks in FP1, it gave me a good feeling with the car and I just kept going. But it’s a good story to tell that I ended up in P1 in FP1.
"The car’s evolving the whole time; one thought at 15 mins to go is another with two minutes to go. But my goal is to stay grounded.
"I’ve just got to keep working with it and do the best I can with the car. They’re interested to hear my feedback on the car with my engineering experience working with Rory (Butcher) last year and as it happens it’s a great car!"
Championship leader Colin Turkington has quietly gone about his business – normal protocol for the record-equalling four-time BTCC champion – as the Team BMW claimed sixth in his ballast-laden 3 Series.
Local teams were next in the order as Adam Morgan (Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools) pipped Tom Ingram (Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters) to seventh.
Team BMW's Tom Oliphant – fresh from his recent Brands Hatch victory – was ninth, whilst soon-to-be 700 race man Matt Neal completed the top ten in his Halfords-backed Honda.
Qualifying for Round 7 of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship from Oulton Park will take place at 1525, with the action being streamed live and exclusively via www.itv.com/btcc.
2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 2 – Oulton Park
1 Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +1:26.248s
2 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.140s
3 Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.203s
4 Chris SMILEY (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +0.265s
5 Mike BUSHELL (GBR) Power Maxed Car Care Racing +0.440s
6 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.480s
7 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +0.495s
8 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters +0.513s
9 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +0.514s
10 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.533s
11 Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +0.572s
12 Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +0.711s
13 Sam OSBORNE (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +0.774s
14 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +0.965s
15 Tom CHILTON (GBR) BTC Racing +1.008s
16 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.012s
17 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +1.189s
18 James GORNALL (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +1.209s
19 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.224s
20 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +1.364s
21 Michael CREES (GBR) The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing +1.676s
22 Andy NEATE (GBR) Motorbase Performance +1.820s
23 Ollie BROWN (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport Team HARD +1.872s
24 Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) HUB Financial Solutions with Team HARD +1.971s
25 Jack BUTEL (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +2.392s
26 Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +2.496s
27 Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Team HARD +3.841s
