Motorbase Performance’s Rory Butcher took his second British Touring Car Championship pole position of the 2020 season at Oulton Park.
The Scot took the new-for-2020 Ford Focus ST’s maiden pole position last time out at Brands Hatch GP but would lose valuable points in his title challenge after repeat punctures in races one and three.
Butcher’s time of 1:25.734 was just under a tenth quicker than closest rival Josh Cook in the BTC Racing FK8 Honda Civic Type R, with the pair improving late in the session.
Those improvements put them ahead of reigning champion Colin Turkington who held provisional pole in the final third of the session despite maximum ballast on board his BMW 330i M Sport.
He would then drop back to third behind Butcher and Cook, but has a good opportunity to make progress off the line in race one tomorrow as he is surrounded by front-wheel drive machinery.
The Halfords Yuasa Racing duo of Matt Neal and Dan Cammish were next in fourth and fifth positions respectively, while Jake Hill would place sixth after encouraging pace in the MB Motorsport FK2 Honda Civic Type R.
Cook’s BTC Racing stablemate Tom Chilton placed in seventh ahead of Turkington’s team-mate Tom Oliphant in eighth, with the Brands Hatch racewinner slipping down the order after having a time removed for track limits.
Ciceley Motorsport’s Adam Morgan was next in ninth ahead of the best of the Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundais of Chris Smiley in tenth position.
The Northern Irishman would not get to attempt a final flying lap in the session after running wide at Druids and damaging the front bodywork of his Hyundai i30 Fastback N.
Behind him was another driver who experienced drama in the half-hour session, with Ash Sutton only managing 11th position after an early moment at the Island Hairpin followed by a black flag for track limits abuse that ended his session prematurely.
The 2017 champion was 11th ahead of series returnee Mike Bushell, who finished a respectable 12th position after strong practice pace throughout the day in mixed conditions.
Michael Crees was 13th in the third BTC Racing Honda Civic, while Senna Proctor and Tom Ingram rounded out the top 15.
Race one of the British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park is scheduled to get underway at 12:20 BST.
Qualifying results
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 6 | I | Rory BUTCHER |  |
Motorbase Performance | Ford Focus ST | 12 | 1:25.734 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 66 | I | Josh COOK | |
BTC Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 16 | 1:25.823 | 0.089 |
| 3 | 1 | M | Colin TURKINGTON | |
Team BMW | BMW 330i M Sport | 17 | 1:25.971 | 0.237 |
| 4 | 25 | M | Matt NEAL | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 15 | 1:25.986 | 0.252 |
| 5 | 27 | M | Dan CAMMISH | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 13 | 1:26.118 | 0.384 |
| 6 | 24 | I | Jake HILL | |
MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square | Honda Civic Type-R | 15 | 1:26.144 | 0.410 |
| 7 | 3 | I | Tom CHILTON | |
BTC Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 17 | 1:26.164 | 0.430 |
| 8 | 15 | M | Tom OLIPHANT | |
Team BMW | BMW 330i M Sport | 18 | 1:26.166 | 0.432 |
| 9 | 32 | I | Adam MORGAN | |
Carlube Triple R Racing with Mac Tools | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 13 | 1:26.259 | 0.525 |
| 10 | 22 | I | Chris SMILEY | |
Excelr8 Motorsport | Hyundai i30 Fastback N | 15 | 1:26.264 | 0.530 |
| 11 | 116 | I | Ashley SUTTON | |
Laser Tools Racing | Infiniti Q50 | 16 | 1:26.268 | 0.534 |
| 12 | 21 | I | Mike BUSHELL | |
Power Maxed Car Care Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 15 | 1:26.472 | 0.738 |
| 13 | 777 | I | Michael CREES | |
The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 15 | 1:26.519 | 0.785 |
| 14 | 18 | I | Senna PROCTOR | |
Excelr8 Motorsport | Hyundai i30 Fastback N | 15 | 1:26.523 | 0.789 |
| 15 | 80 | M | Tom INGRAM | |
Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters | Toyota Corolla | 10 | 1:26.574 | 0.840 |
| 16 | 48 | I | Ollie JACKSON | |
Motorbase Performance | Ford Focus ST | 15 | 1:26.593 | 0.859 |
| 17 | 41 | I | Carl BOARDLEY | |
Team HARD. | BMW 125i M Sport | 17 | 1:26.597 | 0.863 |
| 18 | 12 | I | Stephen JELLEY | |
Team Parker Racing | BMW 125i M Sport | 16 | 1:26.669 | 0.935 |
| 19 | 31 | I | Jack GOFF | |
RCIB Insurance Racing with Fox Transport | Volkswagen CC | 15 | 1:26.793 | 1.059 |
| 20 | 4 | I | Sam OSBORNE | |
MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square | Honda Civic Type-R | 13 | 1:26.817 | 1.083 |
| 21 | 16 | I | Aiden MOFFAT | |
Laser Tools Racing | Infiniti Q50 | 17 | 1:26.871 | 1.137 |
| 22 | 180 | I | James GORNALL | |
GKR TradePriceCars.com | Audi S3 | 14 | 1:27.047 | 1.313 |
| 23 | 44 | I | Andy NEATE | |
Motorbase Performance | Ford Focus ST | 14 | 1:27.077 | 1.343 |
| 24 | 32 | I | Jack BUTEL | |
Carlube Triple R Racing with Mac Tools | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 14 | 1:27.149 | 1.415 |
| 25 | 34 | I | Ollie BROWN | |
RCIB Insurance Racing with Fox Transport | Volkswagen CC | 15 | 1:27.425 | 1.691 |
| 26 | 28 | I | Nicolas HAMILTON | |
ROKiT Racing with Team HARD. | Volkswagen CC | 14 | 1:27.815 | 2.081 |
| 27 | 19 | I | Bobby THOMPSON | |
GKR TradePriceCars.com | Audi S3 | 1 | No time | N/A |