Rory Butcher rose to the top of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship leaderboard after setting the fastest time in the second and final Free Practice session at Brands Hatch this morning (Saturday).

The Toyota Gazoo Racing UK driver topped the times during a slippery 35-minute practice period in which the leading contenders were separated by mere thousandths of a second. Ash Sutton was just 0.005s behind Butcher's best time in the leading NAPA Racing UK Ford, whilst the top-five were all within a tenth on overall pace. The first 21 drivers were separated by less than a second as the entire bunch remained tightly packed ahead of qualifying later on.

Bobby Thompson continued a strong start to the weekend in his Team HARD prepared Cupra Leon to run less than two hundredths adrift of Butcher, whilst local ace Jake Hill and Butcher's Toyota teammate Ricky Collard rounded out the top five.

Four-time champion Colin Turkington quietly retained his position towards the sharp end for a second session in succession in sixth, just ahead of a trio of Hyundais. Donington Park race winner Tom Chilton headed the Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 entries in seventh, with rookie Ronan Pearson eighth and reigning champion Tom Ingram completing the Korean manufacturer's top ten presence in ninth.

Series leader Dan Cammish was 10th as the session came to a close ahead of Qualifying at 15:25.

At the close of the session, the circuit paused for a moment to mark the Coronation of King Charles III with God Save The King played across the venue. 

Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Free Practice 2, Brands Hatch 

1. Rory Butcher, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, 53.978s
2. Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +0.005s
3. Bobby Thompson, Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils, Cupra Leon, +0.017s
4. Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing, BMW 330e M Sport, +0.035s
5. Ricky Collard, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +0.079s
6. Colin Turkington, Team BMW, BMW 330e M Sport, +0.129s
7. Tom Chilton, Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8, Hyundai i30N, +0.204s
8. Ronan Pearson, Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8, Hyundai i30N, +0.256s
9. Tom Ingram, Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8, Hyundai i30N, +0.284s
10. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +0.311s

Click here for full results from this weekend's event.