Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing kicked off its Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship weekend at Brands Hatch in fine style by taking a one-two in the opening Free Practice session.

Árón Taylor-Smith and Mikey Doble enjoyed a promising curtain raiser at Donington Park last time out, taking a clean sweep of Independent wins while the latter leads the Jack Sears Trophy, but the squad remain focussed on targeting overall honours.

They've immediately signalled that intention in FP1 with the duo topping the times in what can only be described as beautiful conditions as the famous Kent venue – Taylor-Smith heading team-mate Doble by just 0.007s.

"When we tested at the circuit in pre-season the car felt really strong in both wet and dry conditions so I think we should have a fast package here," said Taylor-Smith. "I feel like we will be able to challenge up towards the front and I’m excited to see what we can do."

Team BMW's Colin Turkington was fourth, ahead of LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ's Josh Cook and NAPA Racing UK's Ash Sutton, with the top five covered by less than a tenth of a second.

Jake Hill (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport), Dan Rowbottom (NAPA Racing UK) and Dan Cammish (NAPA Racing UK) also highlighted the prowess of the BMWs and Fords respectively by being next up in the timesheets, whilst Andrew Watson (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK) and Tom Chilton (Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS) completed the top ten.

Although Watson and Chilton showed solid pace it was a quiet opening session generally for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK and Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with more pace yet to come from both squads.

The 1.21-mile Indy Circuit so often creates some of the closest racing of the season and the top 13 drivers were blanketed by just half a second.

The BTCC is back on track at 1205 for the final practice session, whilst the all-important all-new 'Quick Six' Qualifying format kicks off at 1525 with the action being streamed live via the ITV Sport YouTube channel.

Brands Hatch Indy – Free Practice 1 – Classification