Butcher puts them on hook with pace of Ford

British Touring Car Championship rising star Rory Butcher blitzed the only dry session in the series’ two-day Goodyear tyre test at Snetterton last week.

The Scot caused a red flag when his new-shape Motorbase Performance Ford Focus (right) coasted to a halt at the end of the pitlane with electrical failure, but once he properly got onto the track he was able to put in a short run that included two laps well quicker than the best anyone else set.

“The car has been really good straight out of the box,” said Butcher. “Since the electrical issue it has gone really smoothly and we’ve worked our way through our plan. We’re definitely in a good place with the car. We decided to do a proper run at the end and see where we are – it turned out to be a good lap and the car was mega.”

Best of the rest was BTC Racing Honda newcomer Tom Chilton, ahead of the Speedworks-run Toyota Corolla of Tom Ingram. The official BMWS run by West Surrey Racing did not complete any serious running in the opening session, sticking to a prearranged testing plan.

With the second day wet throughout,

Ash Sutton (right, below) banged in the top time in both sessions with the Laser Tools Infiniti. Next up were Ingram and Butcher.

Speedworks also ran the development hybrid Toyota in conjunction with Cosworth Electronics, with Darren Turner at the wheel and the team happy with progress.