Rory Butcher was on top in Q1 for the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK team but fell to fourth as the track completely dried in Q2. Despite this, the home hero knew ‘The car had the pace to be on pole”.
“It was really, really good. I didn’t really know what to expect, just with the weather conditions being so changeable. But I could kind of see how that session was going to play out. It looked like the sky was clear and the track was starting to dry, so we opted to get the slicks on early.
“That then allowed me to kind of really find my feet in the dry conditions, or the dry line. If only the session had ended after that first Q1 and we’d have been on pole. Q2, we only got half the session because we had a little technical issue, so we missed the first half of the 10 minutes.
“The car had the pace to be on pole. I feel like I left a little bit on the table in the middle sector and only realised that near the end of the run. I think that’s just really positive for the team.They’ve done such a great job, not only getting me back out there, but giving me a car good enough to fight for pole”.
The car came alive in the mixed conditions and looked just as comfortable when in the wet. This and the uncertainty of Sundays weather means Butcher is confident in his race pace.
“Yeah, definitely. Can’t wait to be starting off the first few rows. It’s not been like that this year. I’ve had a bit of a tough season in terms of qualifying. So it’s really nice just to feature in that front couple of rows and just build up a good day from there”.
The setup has been on everyone’s mind as the track has never been in the same condition from one session to the next. The performance throughout the day leaves Butcher confident the team have gone in the right direction.
“Yeah, I think so. It’s hard, you know, I don’t actually know where we are set-up-wise. I just know they went more towards a dry set-up expecting it to dry. So, yeah, took a bit of a risk there and it paid off”.