Butcher seals Silverstone opener as title twists again at penultimate meeting

Rory Butcher‘s love affair with Silverstone continued on Sunday afternoon as the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK driver followed up his pole position by sealing the opening BTCC race of the day around the Northamptonshire circuit.

Butcher sealed his first win of the season after claiming two victories last season at Silverstone and could do the same today. Starting the race, he stormed clear before being hounded down by the two BMW’s in tandem in Jake Hill and Adam Morgan for RoKIT MB Motorsport and Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport with a safety car putting his lead into doubt.

But he safely navigated the latter portion of the race surviving intense pressure to eventually cross the line for his tenth BTCC career victory and take a confidence booster into Race Two.

While the leading pack were battling out front which also included title contenders Tom Ingram and Ash Sutton who finished fifth and sixth, it was Colin Turkington who took the headlines as the championship leader was bumped down to the rear of the field.

Ingram initially lost out in an opening melee but finished fifth, for Turkington though he was the victim of further contact and his hopes of scoring championship points were quashed in a rebuild job likely towards Race Three now at a vital point of the season.

Gordon Shedden finished fourth in the end ahead of Ingram, Sutton and Cammish with the latter two again switching positions to help the defending champion in his title fight as Ricky Collard, Stephen Jelley and Tom Chilton continue their strong ends to the season to sit inside the top 10.

2022 British Touring Car Championship – Race 1 – Silverstone

1.      Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK 24 laps
2.      Jake HILL (GBR) ROKiT MB Motorsport +0.299s
3.      Adam MORGAN (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +0.551s
4.      Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +1.424s
5.      Tom INGRAM (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +1.714s
6.      Ash SUTTON (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +3.216s
7.      Dan CAMMISH (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +3.404s
8.      Ricky COLLARD (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK +4.077s
9.      Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team BMW +5.511s
10.    Tom CHILTON (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +6.077s
11.    Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +6.483s
12.    Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +6.931s
13.    Josh COOK (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +7.286s
14.    Jason PLATO (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +7.882s
15.    Árón TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +8.621s
16.    Michael CREES (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +10.814s
17.    Jade EDWARDS (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +13.162s
18.    Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +13.615s
19.    Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +14.436s
20.    Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +17.542s
21.    Rick PARFITT (GBR) Uptonsteel with Euro Car Parts Racing +18.151s
22.    Will POWELL (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +23.297s
23.    Nic HAMILTON (GBR) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +1 lap
24.    George GAMBLE (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +1 lap
25.    Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +2 laps
26.    Dexter PATTERSON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +7 laps
27.    Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +9 laps
28.    Ash HAND (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +14 laps
29.    Jack BUTEL (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +15 laps