The Honda Civic Type R of Jake Hill seems to be back on form as the Kent driver topped both Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship Free Practice sessions at Brands Hatch.
MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square's young talent endured a tough opening weekend at Donington Park – through a series of unfortunate mechanical issues – but the #24 has been back on song around the 2.43-mile famous Grand Prix circuit.
Halfords Yuasa Racing's Dan Cammish was leading the way until late on, but Hill lowered the benchmark by a significant margin – ending up some 0.463s quicker than the chasing pack.
The pace is still more than half a second shy of the 2018 qualifying lap record, however, suggesting there is still room for improvement when the important stuff gets underway later this afternoon.
EXCELR8 Motorsport continues to impress with its all-new Hyundai i30 N, but this time around it's Senna Proctor on the charge. The Yorkshireman was third at the end of practice.
Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools continued its progress up the order with lead driver Adam Morgan claiming fourth, suggesting the Mercedes A-Class is in the sweet spot ahead of qualifying.
Rory Butcher experienced the highs and lows of a BTCC session as his Motorbase Performance Ford Focus showed encouraging pace before a front-left tyre issue curtailed his running. The Scotsman was still quick enough for fifth on the timesheets.
"As I apexed at Clearways the car went straight off into the gravel," said Butcher. "I was extremely fortunate to keep it out of the wall!
"The car handles really well. The guys had that in mind when they designed it and it’s competitive with weight onboard too.
"It’s been really cool seeing the car turn from a bare shell to the test in March. As soon as I left the pit lane I knew I had something special."
The manufacturer-backed Toyota of Tom Ingram was sixth, ahead of Team BMW duo Tom Oliphant and Colin Turkington.
The BTC Racing pairing of Josh Cook and Tom Chilton completed the top ten.
Qualifying for Round 4 of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship from Brands Hatch will take place at 1520, with all the action being broadcast live from 1510 via www.itv.com/btcc.
2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 2 – Brands Hatch GP
1 Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square 1:31.255s
2 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.493s
3 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +0.472
4 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +0.555s
5 Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.716s
6 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters +0.750s
7 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +0.853s
8 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.879s
9 Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +0.969s
10 Tom CHILTON (GBR) BTC Racing +0.978s
11 James GORNALL (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +0.988s
12 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.086s
13 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +1.130s
14 Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +1.156s
15 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.161s
16 Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +1.200s
17 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +1.293s
18 Michael CREES (GBR) The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing +1.404s
19 Sam OSBORNE (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +1.442s
20 Chris SMILEY (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +1.569s
21 Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) HUB Financial Solutions with Team HARD +1.605s
22 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.842s
23 Andy NEATE (GBR) Motorbase Performance +2.284s
24 Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Team HARD +4.203s
25 Jack BUTEL (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +3.626s
26 Ollie Brown (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +4.203s
