The opening Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship free practice session got underway at Knockhill this morning, with title contender Tom Ingram topping the times.

The Team VERTU star proved to be the cream of the crop early on, but arguably the bigger story was that of Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing hitting the track in a competitive session.

The devastating fire that destroyed PMR’s facility, including both of its Vauxhall Astras, which took place just a week ago, has dominated the BTCC landscape this week. The huge reaction that followed, coupled with the incredible work from Adam Weaver and his PMR team, has led to the emotional scenes of two Cupra being readied for the weekend.

Mikey Doble and Nick Halstead completed 28 laps between them in their new machines during FP1, with the former just over a second off the ultimate pace.

As mentioned, it was Ingram setting that benchmark as he comfortably outshone NAPA Racing UK's Dan Rowbottom and Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport's Jake Hill.

"Really good," said Ingram. "You never quite know what to expect here because it's just such an anomaly of a circuit from what we're used to, but it's always such an enjoyable circuit to come to. It's a good start and the car is in a nice place."

"We'll keep working on it, there's always tweaks and improvements to make, but we still need to find more ahead of qualifying."

There was some local cheer inside the top ten as Gordon Shedden (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA) and Aiden Moffat (LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR) ended up sixth and seventh respectively, with the full and final classification listed below.

Free Practice 2 takes place at 12:05, whilst qualifying for Round 19 of the 2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will commence at 15:00 and will be streamed LIVE via ITV YouTube channel.

2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Knockhill – Free Practice 1 – Classification:

P/    No/    Name/    Entry/    Laps/    Time/    Gap/    On/
1    80    Tom INGRAM    Team VERTU    18    51.087        13
2    32    Daniel ROWBOTTOM    NAPA Racing UK    21    51.309    0.222    11
3    1    Jake HILL    Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport    18    51.322    0.235    11
4    40    Árón TAYLOR-SMITH    TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA    17    51.448    0.361    11
5    116    Ashley SUTTON    NAPA Racing UK    14    51.482    0.395    9
6    52    Gordon SHEDDEN    TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA    18    51.522    0.435    14
7    16    Aiden MOFFAT    LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR    21    51.626    0.539    12
8    27    Dan CAMMISH    NAPA Racing UK    19    51.718    0.631    14
9    33    Adam MORGAN    Team VERTU    17    51.729    0.642    10
10    22    Chris SMILEY    Restart Racing    15    51.758    0.671    9
11    18    Senna PROCTOR    Team VERTU    17    51.931    0.844    11
12    17    Dexter PATTERSON    ROKiT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport    18    51.957    0.870    16
13    99    Charles RAINFORD    LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR    17    51.985    0.898    10
14    2    Daryl DELEON    WSR    18    52.002    0.915    12
15    3    Tom CHILTON    Team VERTU    18    52.011    0.924    14
16    123    Daniel LLOYD    Restart Racing    16    52.028    0.941    11
17    132    James DORLIN    TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA    18    52.044    0.957    12
18    88    Mikey DOBLE    Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing    15    52.228    1.141    12
19    77    Sam OSBORNE    NAPA Racing UK    18    52.245    1.158    11
20    19    Max BUXTON    TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA    21    52.919    1.832    15
21    28    Nicolas HAMILTON    Powder Monkey Brewing Co with Esidock    5    53.783    2.696    4
22    50    Nick HALSTEAD    Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing    13    54.283    3.196    12