Daryl De Leon started his weekend perfectly at Brands Hatch, topping the charts in British Touring Car Championship Free Practice.
Most drivers opted for casual running once the green light shone, with the likes of Adam Morgan and Tom Ingram opting to return to the pits regularly.
Árón Taylor-Smith set the early pace on medium tyres, followed by four other medium runners through to P5.
His time was swiftly pipped by Chris Smiley, though his Restart Racing Hyundai i30N was propped by a set of softs.
Ricky Collard left his car 10 minutes into the session, appearing frustrated, while his team worked on an alternator issue under the hood. The Team Vertu driver had a notable lack of running during testing, and will be hoping his issues are resolved before the serious running takes place later on.
Dan Cammish and Mikey Doble put themselves at the top with swift laps on the mediums, as Tom Chilton and Cataclean Plato Racing’s Daniel Rowbottom pushed towards the front.
Nicolas Hamilton found the wrath of the stewards with a black-and-white flag for track limits at Paddock Hill Bend. Despite the drivers undergoing their annual rules test in the morning, Hamilton would not be the first to push the limits.
Daryl De Leon put himself three tenths clear in his WSR BMW, with the team returning to the site of their famous three-peat in 2025, before joining Hamilton with a black-and-white flag.
Mikey Doble, Taylor-Smith, Collard, Smiley, and Aiden Moffat also joined the Paddock Hill Bend black-and-white flag club, all pushing hard ahead of qualifying.
Hamilton was then shown a black flag for repeated track limits violations, being forced to return to the pits before his session could continue.
De Leon continued to improve as the session wound down, with Cammish just behind. As the drivers turned to soft runs, eight were within a few tenths of the lead.
Taylor-Smith had a scare with the gravel at Paddock Hill, but managed to keep his Speedworks Corolla from beaching despite being deep in the dust.
As the chequered flag flew, Doble put his Audi A3 within a tenth of the lead with an excellent lap, before being eclipsed by Audi compatriot Dexter Patterson.
De Leon’s mid-session pace saw him claim P1 at the flag, starting his weekend positively after disappointment at Donington last time out. Plato Racing’s Morgan and Rowbottom found themselves both within the top 10, as did all NAPA Ford Focus cars, and the BMW of Charles Rainford.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Daryl De Leon | WSR | 47.360 | |
| 2. | Dexter Patterson | Steel Seal with PMR | +0.042 | |
| 3. | Mikey Doble | LKQ Euro Car Parts with PMR | +0.077 | |
| 4. | Dan Cammish | NAPA Racing UK | +0.134 | |
| 5. | Ashley Sutton | NAPA Racing UK | +0.148 | |
| 6. | Daniel Rowbottom | Cataclean Plato Racing | +0.158 | |
| 7. | Tom Ingram | Team Vertu | +0.223 | |
| 8. | Charles Rainford | WSR | +0.297 | |
| 9. | Chris Smiley | Restart Racing | +0.341 | |
| 10. | Adam Morgan | Cataclean Plato Racing | +0.357 | |
| 11. | Lewis Selby | NAPA Racing UK | +0.398 | |
| 12. | Árón Taylor-Smith | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +0.482 | |
| 13. | Aiden Moffat | LKQ Euro Car Parts with PMR | +0.661 | |
| 14. | Ricky Collard | Team Vertu | +0.698 | |
| 15. | Tom Chilton | Team Vertu | +0.733 | |
| 16. | Gordon Shedden | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +0.741 | |
| 17. | Sam Osborne | NAPA Racing UK | +0.750 | |
| 18. | Nicolas Hamilton | Team Vertu | +1.111 | |
| 19. | Josh Cook | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +1.262 | |
| 20. | Max Buxton | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +1.454 | |
| 21. | James Dorlin | Restart Racing | N/C |
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