Aron Taylor-Smith topped the times in the opening Free Practice session of the weekend as Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship action returned to the Brands Hatch Indy circuit this morning (Saturday).

The Irishman fired to the top of the order late on during the 35-minute session with an effort of 47.905s and that lap proved to be enough to set the initial pace with nobody able to match him in the final moments. The nearest challenger for first place was his Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing teammate Mikey Doble who lapped within seven thousandths of a second in the dying embers of the session.

The narrow gap between the leading Vauxhall duo was representative of a session which was close overall, with the top-five drivers all separated by less than a tenth. Four-time champion Colin Turkington was third in his Team BMW machine with Josh Cook (Toyota) and Ashley Sutton (Ford) also tightly bunched together towards the head of the order.

Behind that, local ace Jake Hill started the weekend at his home track strongly in sixth place, ahead of the NAPA Racing UK machines of Daniel Rowbottom and Dan Cammish. Andrew Watson and Tom Chilton rounded out the top-ten.

Early championship leader Tom Ingram could only manage 12th fastest during the morning practice period, almost half a second off Taylor-Smith's pace setting best. The 2022 champion heads into this weekend with the most significant hybrid handicap in place thanks to his championship position, so it will be fascinating to see how far up the grid he can climb this afternoon.

Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Brands Hatch, Free Practice 1

1. Aron Taylor-Smith, Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing, Vauxhall Astra, 47.905s
2. Mikey Doble, Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing, Vauxhall Astra, +0.007s
3. Colin Turkington, Team BMW, BMW 330e M Sport, +0.065s
4. Josh Cook, LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +0.088s
5. Ashley Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +0.090s
6. Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, BMW 330e M Sport, +0.192s
7. Daniel Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +0.224s
8. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +0.342s
9. Andrew Watson, TOYOTA GAZOO RACING UK, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +0.376s
10. Tom Chilton, Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS, Hyundai i30N, +0.406s

Click here for full timings from this weekend.