Árón Taylor-Smith topped an Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing one-two in the final Free Practice session of the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season at Brands Hatch.
Both Taylor-Smith and team-mate Mikey Doble are looking to close out a trio of titles this weekend as the Vauxhall Astra squad had enjoyed a stellar campaign. Taylor-Smith holds an unassailable lead in the Independent Drivers' table, whilst Doble is in a similar position in the Jack Sears Trophy.
The duo has also blown away the opposition in the Independent Teams' title so this one-two in FP2 will have further buoyed the outfit ahead of qualifying.
NAPA Racing UK's Ash Sutton and Dan Rowbottom were next in the order, with the latter recovering from a wild ride through the gravel on the exit of Sheene Curve.
Title contending Tom Ingram (Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS) was fifth, ahead of the Toyota pair in Aiden Moffat (LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ) and Rob Huff (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK).
Tom Chilton was eighth – the tin top star will contest his 500th BTCC race tomorrow – whilst Team BMW's Adam Morgan and Colin Turkington rounded out the top ten.
Qualifying for Round 28 of the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship takes place at 1540 and will be streamed LIVE via the ITV Sport YouTube.
The championship picture couldn't be any closer going into the final qualifying session of the season with Ingram and Jake Hill tied at the top, with Sutton, Dan Cammish, Josh Cook and Turkington all still in mathematical contention to claim the crown.
Brands Hatch - Free Practice 2 - Final Classification
| P/ | No/ | Name/ | Entry/ | Laps/ | Time/ | Gap/ | On/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40 | Árón TAYLOR-SMITH | Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing | 15 | 1:29.627 | 15 | |
| 2 | 88 | Mikey DOBLE | Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing | 18 | 1:29.822 | 0.195 | 14 |
| 3 | 1 | Ashley SUTTON | NAPA Racing UK | 15 | 1:29.938 | 0.311 | 14 |
| 4 | 32 | Daniel ROWBOTTOM | NAPA Racing UK | 18 | 1:29.968 | 0.341 | 9 |
| 5 | 80 | Tom INGRAM | Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS | 17 | 1:29.981 | 0.354 | 17 |
| 6 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ | 17 | 1:30.182 | 0.555 | 17 |
| 7 | 12 | Rob HUFF | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK | 14 | 1:30.330 | 0.703 | 14 |
| 8 | 3 | Tom CHILTON | Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS | 17 | 1:30.335 | 0.708 | 14 |
| 9 | 33 | Adam MORGAN | Team BMW | 17 | 1:30.347 | 0.720 | 13 |
| 10 | 20 | Colin TURKINGTON | Team BMW | 16 | 1:30.612 | 0.985 | 6 |
| 11 | 11 | Andrew WATSON | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK | 14 | 1:30.759 | 1.132 | 12 |
| 12 | 27 | Dan CAMMISH | NAPA Racing UK | 17 | 1:30.855 | 1.228 | 17 |
| 13 | 24 | Jake HILL | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | 18 | 1:30.858 | 1.231 | 6 |
| 14 | 18 | Daryl DELEON | Duckhams Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport | 13 | 1:31.041 | 1.414 | 10 |
| 15 | 66 | Josh COOK | LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ | 9 | 1:31.076 | 1.449 | 6 |
| 16 | 222 | Chris SMILEY | Restart Racing | 16 | 1:31.150 | 1.523 | 14 |
| 17 | 77 | Sam OSBORNE | NAPA Racing UK | 16 | 1:31.154 | 1.527 | 12 |
| 18 | 29 | Scott SUMPTON | Restart Racing | 17 | 1:31.284 | 1.657 | 15 |
| 19 | 45 | Dan ZELOS | Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS | 14 | 1:31.423 | 1.796 | 14 |
| 20 | 22 | Nick HALSTEAD | Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS | 15 | 1:32.708 | 3.081 | 13 |
