Puncture misery forces Rory Butcher off track at Brands Hatch

The local racer arrived for round four having secured himself pole position thanks to some terrific work in qualifying.

Amidst sweltering temperatures at the legendary Brands Hatch GP circuit – Butcher banked his benchmark 1:31.111s lap early in the session and it wouldn’t be beaten for the remainder of the running by any of his competitors.

It soon became a double celebration for the Motorbase Performance squad as team mate Ollie Jackson secured a third place on the grid for the opening race of three a day later.

And those celebratins looked like continuing long into the weekend when Butcher made the most of his pole when the race started, leading the race for the majority of it.

Events, though, would conspire again him and Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Dan Cammish won the opener around the legendary 2.43-mile Grand Prix circuit.

The day started with Cammish inheriting victory following late disaster for long-time race one leader Butcher.

The Ford Focus of Butcher controlled much of the running – albeit coming under constant pressure from Cammish and reigning champion Turkington – before a late safety car period bunched up the field.

Contact between Matt Neal’s Honda and Aiden Moffat’s Infiniti caused the delay, which ultimately played into Cammish’s hands as Butcher suffered with a puncture immediately after the restart.

An emotional Cammish admitted to shedding a tear as he crossed the line, putting those painful memories from last October behind him, when his title challenge ended in the barrier at Hawthorn Bend.

Four-time champ Turkington then fended off a feisty Tom Ingram in the second encounter, whilst title rival Cammish hit trouble.

But the story of the second race belonged to Butcher as the Motorbase Performance driver roared back from 25th on the grid to take fourth at the finish, eventually passing team-mate Jackson.

Team BMW’s Tom Oliphant claimed a spectacular maiden BTCC victory in a classic finale.

Oliphant made one of the passes of the season so far as he blitzed around the outside of Aiden Moffat and Stephen Jelley on the run down to Paddock Hill Bend to take the lead.

When the dust settled after the early skirmishes, Oliphant had two of the series’ great racers – Sutton and Butcher – directly behind him.

With the majority of the contest still remaining, you could be forgiven for thinking that Sutton or Butcher may have made their way through to the front, but Oliphant proved his pace, prowess and professionalism by not putting a wheel wrong.