Butcher carves out two podium finishes in BTCC
RORY Butcher got his British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) off to a cracking start with two podium finishes on the return of the series at Donington Park.
It was Kirkcaldy-born Butcher’s first race weekend in his Motorbase Performance Ford Focus ST and he said: “The team did a fantastic job. It’s awesome to get such a great result on my debut in the car. This makes all the hard work over the winter worthwhile.”
In the first race, Butcher had to settle for third spot but he put in a sensational drive to snatch second place in the next race.
Despite charges from Dan Cammish and Tom Ingram, a cool-headed Rory kept them at bay and celebrated his second podium of the weekend.
The third race saw Butcher’s Ford Focus ST carrying success ballast from the first two rounds, which meant he could only manage 11th. He ended the weekend fourth overall as the championship heads to Brands Hatch this weekend.
Dalkeith driver Aiden Moffat was also out in the BTCC in his Laser Tools Infiniti Q50. He came home 15th, 20th and 17th in the three races.
He said: “We knew it was going to be a challenging weekend, not helped by getting a penalty and losing engine power. I also have a lot to learn about the car, but huge congratulations to my teammate Ashley Sutton for winning the third race.”
The British GT Championship was also in action and Scots drivers were at the head of the field. In race one Oulton Park, Aberdeen driver Lewis Proctor put in a superb display to bring home his McLaren 720S GT3 in second place.
Hot on his heels was Fife man Dean Macdonald in another McLaren, while Sandy Mitchell, from Forfar, finished fourth, less than one second behind in his Lamborghini Huracan GT3. In sixth spot, yet another Scot was pushing for the win as Ian Loggie took the flag in his Mercedes-AMG GT3.
In race two, Mitchell had the upper hand and finished second, with Proctor fifth and Loggie in eighth position.
Macdonald’s race ended early when his McLaren was involved in a three-car crash.
There was more sports car excitement as Ross Wylie competed in the Porsche Carrera Cup at Donington Park.
Despite a 10-second penalty due to a technical infringement during qualifying, Wylie brought his Porsche 911 home seventh in the first race and then sixth in the following race.
This weekend sees Colin Noble and Tony Wells racing their Nielsen Racing Norma LMP3 at Spa, Belgium, in the Le Mans Cup and European Le Mans Series (ELMS). Dundee driver Finlay Hutchison will also be at Spa in his Ferrari 488 GTE for the ELMS event.
Tarran and Taylor Mackenzie are out in the first British Superbike Championship round at Donington Park.
Stirling-born Tarran said: “I hope I’m the top Mackenzie but if not, Taylor can buy the McDonald’s on the way home.”