Croft crash sees Rory Butcher relinquish British Touring Car Championship lead

The Kirkcaldy AMd driver was one of 15 drivers who failed to set a time in a disrupted qualifying session after three red flags in the early stages.

On his first timed lap, Butcher lost the rear end of his Honda Civic Type R and went off heavily into the tyre wall, causing extensive damage to the car as it spun around on impact.

After working through the night, team mechanics repaired the damage in time for race one on Sunday, where Butcher recovered from P29, the last starting position, to finish 18th.

A 14th place finish followed in race two before a seventh in race three from a grid position of 14th ensured a positive end to a tough weekend.

"This event was really challenging for the whole team and Saturday's shunt was a big set back," Butcher said.

"I’m very lucky to have such a good group of people around me who worked into the early hours to repair the car for Sunday.

"We made up 22 positions on race day, eventually finishing seventh in race 3, which was a positive end to things.

"In race 3 I enjoyed my battle with (Colin) Turkington for P6, quickly learning he’s got a feisty side, hence why he’s triple champion. Lesson learned for the future.

"In the BTCC you have to take the rough with the smooth. Time to move on, learn from my experiences and focus on Oulton Park in two weeks."

Butcher had gone into the weekend tied at the top of the BTCC standings but has now dropped to sixth place on 113 points, 30 points behind leader Colin Turkington.