Daryl De Leon set the pace in the final Free Practice session of the 2026 British Touring Car Championship season at Brands Hatch.
The WSR BMW racer lapped the Grand Prix circuit in 1m28.982s, just 0.081s clear of two-time champion Tom Ingram in second.
De Leon's best effort came in the last two minutes of a 50-minute session in which times tumbled late on. He was the only driver to dip below the 1m29s barrier in dry conditions.
Josh Cook's Speedworks Toyota topped the times for much of the session before Daniel Rowbottom began the push to the front with 11 minutes remaining. Cook responded immediately, becoming the first driver below 1m30s as the final eight minutes began.
Newly crowned five-time champion Ash Sutton then entered the picture in his Alliance Racing Ford Focus Titanium, going quickest with a 1m29.683s effort. He improved again, more than four tenths faster, before Ingram and then De Leon produced superior times in the closing moments.
Sutton was classified third, just under three tenths off De Leon, with Rowbottom's CPLR Mercedes fourth. Tom Chilton was 0.346s off the pace to complete the top five in his final practice session as a BTCC driver.
Mikey Doble was sixth in the Power Maxed Racing Audi, one place ahead of Cook, who ended up seventh. Aiden Moffat and Dexter Patterson placed the other two Power Maxed Audis eighth and tenth, either side of Sutton's team-mate Dan Cammish.
Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Free Practice 1, Brands Hatch
- Daryl De Leon, WSR, BMW 330i M Sport, 1m28.982s
- Tom Ingram, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +0.081s
- Ashley Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +0.260s
- Daniel Rowbottom, CPRL, Mercedes A35 Saloon, +0.338s
- Tom Chilton, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +0.346s
- Mikey Doble, LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing, Audi A3 Saloon, +0.410s
- Josh Cook, Speedworks Corolla Racing, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +0.490s
- Aiden Moffat, LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing, Audi A3 Saloon, +0.588s
- Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +0.619s
- Dexter Patterson, Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing, +0.661s