Toyota’s Rory Butcher felt he had to work hard to claim his first British Touring Car Championship pole position of the season at Silverstone, relying on a slipstream from team-mate Ricky Collard to take the top time.
Butcher put his Toyota Corolla on pole by just 0.037 seconds from MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill, whilst Collard qualified in a season-best sixth in the sister car.
Although Butcher was equally on form at the Northamptonshire circuit in 2021, when he had a pole and two wins, the Scot felt he had to work harder to pull off the feat this year.
“That felt really good,” said Butcher. “I didn’t know whether pole was going to happen in that session, obviously we got pole here last year and I didn’t require a tow, but today I did; I had to be quite strategic.
“The car’s handling was amazing, and it just reminded me of the feeling I had in the car last year.
“It’s just nice to be back on pole, it’s been a whole year! A whole season’s worth of no pole positions. But we’re back and it just sets us up so well for tomorrow. I’m so pleased!
“I’m the only driver in the top 12 that doesn’t have a race win, but we’ve put ourselves in a good position for tomorrow, so we’ll be gunning for a win.
“I’m just so pleased for the team. I’ve got my family here this weekend, my two kids and my wife Joy – I think they bring me a bit of luck as well, it’s great!
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I’ve been strong off the line this year – that’s one of my strengths – so hopefully we’ll get a good run off the line and then we can have a nice race!”