Laser Tools Racing’s Ash Sutton went quickest ahead of qualifying at Knockhill in the second British Touring Car Championship practice session, setting the benchmark before a suspension failure curtailed his session early.
The 2017 champion set the early pace in the session before setting the benchmark time of 50.870s on his 11th tour putting him over a tenth clear of Tom Ingram, who recovered well from mechanical issues earlier in the session.
There was drama aplenty in the 40-minute session as drivers pushed the limits around the 1.27-mile circuit, with a red flag stoppage due to an off for James Gornall’s Audi S3 at Clark before Stephen Jelley’s BMW had a spin at the same corner when the session went back to green.
Sutton would stop out on track due to a late right-rear suspension failure on his Infiniti Q50, pulling off onto the grass in the final sector so the session could remain green with just a few minutes to go.
Power Maxed Racing’s Mike Bushell continued his strong practice form by putting his Vauxhall Astra third in the session after placing second in the first session, while Sutton’s Laser Tools Racing team-mate Aiden Moffat enjoyed a solid result in fourth on home soil.
Oulton Park race three winner Adam Morgan completed the top five runners in his Mercedes A-Class – still within a quarter-of-a-second of Sutton’s pace-setting lap – while the best of the Excerl8 Motorsport Hyundais was Senna Proctor in sixth.
Reigning champion Colin Turkington replicated his first practice result in seventh, carrying maximum ballast aboard his WSR-run BMW 330i M Sport ahead of team-mate Tom Oliphant.
Practice one pacesetter Jake Hill only managed ninth in the second session, with Stephen Jelley’s Team Parker Racing BMW rounding out the top ten.
2019 runner-up Dan Cammish was 11th, with fellow Honda Civic Type R runner Tom Chilton the best of the BTC Racing machines in 12th.
Last year’s polesitter Rory Butcher was 13th, with Matt Neal and Sam Osborne in 14th and 15th positions respectively.
With the top ten positions separated by less than three tenths, expect even closer margins during qualifying at 15:30 BST.
Session results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 116 | Ashley SUTTON |  |
Laser Tools Racing | Infiniti Q50 | 25 | 50.870 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 80 | Tom INGRAM | |
Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters | Toyota Corolla | 15 | 50.998 | 0.128 |
| 3 | 21 | Mike BUSHELL | |
Power Maxed Car Care Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 25 | 51.031 | 0.161 |
| 4 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | |
Laser Tools Racing | Infiniti Q50 | 33 | 51.062 | 0.192 |
| 5 | 32 | Adam MORGAN | |
Carlube Triple R Racing with Mac Tools | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 22 | 51.094 | 0.224 |
| 6 | 18 | Senna PROCTOR | |
Excelr8 Motorsport | Hyundai i30 Fastback N | 27 | 51.103 | 0.233 |
| 7 | 1 | Colin TURKINGTON | |
Team BMW | BMW 330i M Sport | 27 | 51.110 | 0.240 |
| 8 | 15 | Tom OLIPHANT | |
Team BMW | BMW 330i M Sport | 31 | 51.135 | 0.265 |
| 9 | 24 | Jake HILL | |
MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square | Honda Civic Type-R | 27 | 51.153 | 0.283 |
| 10 | 12 | Stephen JELLEY | |
Team Parker Racing | BMW 125i M Sport | 29 | 51.160 | 0.290 |
| 11 | 27 | Dan CAMMISH | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 23 | 51.181 | 0.311 |
| 12 | 3 | Tom CHILTON | |
BTC Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 24 | 51.181 | 0.311 |
| 13 | 6 | Rory BUTCHER | |
Motorbase Performance | Ford Focus ST | 26 | 51.194 | 0.324 |
| 14 | 25 | Matt NEAL | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 21 | 51.197 | 0.327 |
| 15 | 4 | Sam OSBORNE | |
MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square | Honda Civic Type-R | 29 | 51.284 | 0.414 |
| 16 | 22 | Chris SMILEY | |
Excelr8 Motorsport | Hyundai i30 Fastback N | 26 | 51.298 | 0.428 |
| 17 | 31 | Jack GOFF | |
RCIB Insurance Racing with Fox Transport | Volkswagen CC | 26 | 51.320 | 0.450 |
| 18 | 41 | Carl BOARDLEY | |
Team HARD. | BMW 125i M Sport | 26 | 51.500 | 0.630 |
| 19 | 66 | Josh COOK | |
BTC Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 22 | 51.510 | 0.640 |
| 20 | 48 | Ollie JACKSON | |
Motorbase Performance | Ford Focus ST | 25 | 51.517 | 0.647 |
| 21 | 777 | Michael CREES | |
The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 26 | 51.532 | 0.662 |
| 22 | 19 | Bobby THOMPSON | |
GKR TradePriceCars.com | Audi S3 | 23 | 51.619 | 0.749 |
| 23 | 180 | James GORNALL | |
GKR TradePriceCars.com | Audi S3 | 14 | 51.920 | 1.050 |
| 24 | 44 | Andy NEATE | |
Motorbase Performance | Ford Focus ST | 24 | 52.294 | 1.424 |
| 25 | 32 | Jack BUTEL | |
Carlube Triple R Racing with Mac Tools | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 31 | 52.306 | 1.436 |