Kirkcaldy racer Butcher aims to get back on track after home letdown

The Kirkcaldy racing driver lined up to race at Knochill in the fifth round of the British Touring car Championship in the middle of August, but admits things didn’t quite go to plan.

“After only qualifying eighth on Saturday our race day was always going to be tough,” he said.

"I struggled with the handling of the car, as our Oulton Park set up just didn’t transfer across to Knockhill’s quirky nature like we’d hoped and expected.

"I still think I should have qualified higher despite the handling issues.

"We got to work on Saturday evening and started putting things right, analysing the onboard footage and data to pin point the car's weak areas as well as mine.

“We hung in there, scoring a ninth place in Race 1 and then fought through to seventh in Race 2 before spinning around the front of Aiden Moffat’s Infiniti with just a few laps to go, dropping me down the order to dead last.

"The car was feeling really good by this stage in the weekend which is the most disappointing part, as the potential for a strong result was definitely there.

"I ended the weekend with a fastest lap in Race 3, on the less favourable medium tyre, providing a single championship point and proof that we had made some real progress.

"I feel really positive about the way we are working together as a team and know that when we face issues at future events, we have enough tools in the box to solve any problem.”

He added: "You have so much expectation going into a home race and I’ve been really fortunate to have come away with a winner's trophy the last two seasons, but despite all the preparation and hard work behind the scenes, this year's event didn’t go quite as planned

“The results on track were nothing to write home about, however it was so good to see Knockhill filled with spectators again.”

This weekend Butcher aims to make amends as he revs up for the circuit at Thruxton in round six.

"It’s our second visit there this year and I’m really looking forward to putting our Toyota Corolla to the test after what we have learned over the past few events.,” he said.

"It’s the quickest track in the UK.”