![Rory Butcher, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK [Speedworks Motorsport], Toyota Corolla](https://www.touringcars.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/RoryButcherJoshCook.jpg "Photo: Pat Cranham")
Toyota’s Rory Butcher bagged a second straight victory in the British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone, as second-placed Josh Cook, who almost stole the win on the last lap, appeared to fail the ride height checks after the race.
Butcher made a better start from pole position than he had in the opening race, despite carrying 66 kg more success ballast than he had done earlier in the day, thanks to his opening race win.
BTC Racing’s Cook was the biggest mover at the start, leaping from fifth to third and onto the tail of Excelr8 Motorsport’s Tom Ingram.
Ingram, with 66 kg on board after taking second in race one, soon began to drop away from the back of Butcher’s Toyota and by lap six Cook was all over the back of the Hyundai driver.
Cook then dived up the inside of Ingram for second at Brooklands on lap six, but after almost half a lap side-by-side Ingram re-claimed the place at Becketts on the next lap.
The race had to be neutralised on lap ten for two separate incidents. Team Dynamics’ Gordon Shedden and BTC’s Jade Edwards came together for the second time this year at Luffield on the eighth lap, as Shedden took to the grass to try to complete a pass for what was then 21st, but made contact with Edwards and sent her Honda into the gravel.
Further around, on lap nine, Andy Neate hit Carl Boardley at Copse, spinning his Infiniti out of the race with damage.
As Edwards’ car had to be recovered, six laps behind the safety car were required before racing resumed on lap 17.
Cook wasted no time in re-passing Ingram for second at Luffield and into Copse on the next lap, although the duel allowed Butcher to open up a second’s advantage at the front.
Over the remaining laps, Cook reduced the time deficit before making a last-gasp lunge at Brooklands on the final lap, avoiding contact with Butcher but locking up and skipping across the grass on the inside.
That error sealed the win for Butcher, with Cook crossing the line in second before his car appeared to fail the post-race checks.
Ingram held on to third, despite intense pressure from the Laser Tools Racing Infiniti of Aiden Moffat for the final laps.
Moffat had been in fourth, ahead of BMW’s Colin Turkington and Infiniti team-mate Ash Sutton, but Turkington got past with a well-judged move around the outside at Brooklands on lap 23.
Moffat then ceded to Sutton on the final lap, allowing the points leader to take fifth, with Moffat coming home in sixth.
Team Dynamics’ Daniel Rowbottom was seventh, a gain of one place on his earlier result, ahead of Excelr8’s Chris Smiley in eighth.
The top ten was completed by BMW’s Stephen Jelley and MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill in tenth, the Ford driver making up 11 places in the race to make up for his earlier points-less race.
Power Maxed Racing’s Jason Plato was 11th, and was drawn onto pole position for the reverse-grid final race of the day, which also sees title contender Hill starting from second with a car now running with only 9 kg of ballast on board.
Toyota’s Sam Smelt and BTC’s Senna Proctor were the only other non-finishers of the race, the former pulling off the circuit on the run up to Brooklands with a technical issue, and Proctor cruising back to the pits after 18 laps, having been running in 12th until that stage.
In terms of the championship, pending Cook’s result, Sutton leads the standings with 268 points ahead of Ingram (243), Cook (239), Turkington (235) and Hill (224).
Race three is scheduled to get underway at 17:05 BST.
Race result
| POS | NO | CL | NAT | DRIVER | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 6 | M |  |
Rory BUTCHER | Toyota Gazoo Racing UK | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 25 | 27:16.006 | 58.291 | 1 |
| 2 | 66 | I | |
Josh COOK | BTC Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 25 | 0.665 | 58.292 | 5 |
| 3 | 80 | I | |
Tom INGRAM | Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com | Hyundai i30 Fastback N | 25 | 3.021 | 58.463 | 2 |
| 4 | 2 | M | |
Colin TURKINGTON | Team BMW | BMW 330i M Sport | 25 | 3.162 | 58.305 | 6 |
| 5 | 1 | I | |
Ashley SUTTON | Laser Tools Racing | Infiniti Q50 | 25 | 3.456 | 58.363 | 7 |
| 6 | 16 | I | |
Aiden MOFFAT | Laser Tools Racing | Infiniti Q50 | 25 | 3.492 | 58.240 | 4 |
| 7 | 32 | I | |
Daniel ROWBOTTOM | Halfords Racing with Cataclean | Honda Civic Type-R | 25 | 4.182 | 58.399 | 8 |
| 8 | 22 | I | |
Chris SMILEY | Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com | Hyundai i30 Fastback N | 25 | 4.494 | 58.438 | 13 |
| 9 | 12 | M | |
Stephen JELLEY | Team BMW | BMW 330i M Sport | 25 | 5.550 | 58.355 | 9 |
| 10 | 24 | M | |
Jake HILL | MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square | Ford Focus ST | 25 | 6.706 | 58.121 | 21 |
| 11 | 11 | I | |
Jason PLATO | Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 25 | 7.031 | 58.474 | 10 |
| 12 | 123 | I | |
Daniel LLOYD | Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 25 | 7.036 | 58.570 | 3 |
| 13 | 40 | I |  |
Árón TAYLOR-SMITH | Team HARD. with HUB Financial Solutions | CUPRA Leon | 25 | 7.796 | 58.442 | 17 |
| 14 | 3 | I | |
Tom CHILTON | Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport | BMW 330i M Sport | 25 | 8.348 | 58.463 | 20 |
| 15 | 4 | M | |
Sam OSBORNE | Racing with Wera & Photon Group | Ford Focus ST | 25 | 9.570 | 58.305 | 16 |
| 16 | 31 | I | |
Jack GOFF | Team HARD. with Autobrite Direct | CUPRA Leon | 25 | 9.728 | 58.396 | 19 |
| 17 | 96 | I | |
Jack BUTEL | EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com | Hyundai i30 Fastback N | 25 | 10.036 | 58.520 | 18 |
| 18 | 33 | I | |
Adam MORGAN | Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport | BMW 330i M Sport | 25 | 10.166 | 58.393 | 26 |
| 19 | 48 | M | |
Ollie JACKSON | MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square | Ford Focus ST | 25 | 10.773 | 58.497 | 12 |
| 20 | 52 | I | |
Gordon SHEDDEN | Halfords Racing with Cataclean | Honda Civic Type-R | 25 | 11.066 | 58.509 | 27 |
| 21 | 2022 | – | |
Andrew JORDAN | TOCA / Cosworth / M-Sport | Toyota Corolla BTCC Hybrid | 25 | 11.621 | 58.218 | 30 |
| 22 | 15 | M | |
Tom OLIPHANT | Team BMW | BMW 330i M Sport | 25 | 13.751 | 58.280 | 11 |
| 23 | 19 | I | |
Jack MITCHELL | Team HARD. with Autobrite Direct | CUPRA Leon | 25 | 14.902 | 58.602 | 29 |
| 24 | 44 | M | |
Andy NEATE | Racing with Wera & Photon Group | Ford Focus ST | 25 | 15.589 | 58.548 | 25 |
| 25 | 62 | I | |
Rick PARFITT Jr | EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com | Hyundai i30 Fastback N | 25 | 15.754 | 58.419 | 23 |
| 26 | 28 | I | |
Nicolas HAMILTON | ROKiT Racing with iQuoto Online Trading | CUPRA Leon | 25 | 24.217 | 59.155 | 24 |
| R | 41 | I | |
Carl BOARDLEY | Laser Tools Racing | Infiniti Q50 | 19 | DNF | 58.366 | 15 |
| R | 18 | I | |
Senna PROCTOR | BTC Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 18 | DNF | 58.104 | 14 |
| R | 23 | M | |
Sam SMELT | Toyota Gazoo Racing UK | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 10 | DNF | 58.203 | 28 |
| R | 99 | I | |
Jade EDWARDS | PHSC with BTC Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 7 | DNF | 58.553 | 22 |