Motorbase Performance’s Rory Butcher admitted he “needed” the victory in the final British Touring Car Championship race of the 2020 campaign at Brands Hatch in order to cap off the season with a positive result.
Butcher kicked off the day with a distant fourth position in the opening encounter, and was caught up in an incident at Paddock Hill Bend in the second contest [above], but would capitalise on the opportunity to take victory on home soil for the Kent-based Motorbase squad in the final race.
The result secured the Scot fifth position in the championship, and he admitted after the race that the 2020 season has been a “learning experience” across the debut season for the Ford Focus ST.
“Fantastic! We really needed that to go into the winter. It’s been a tough few rounds but we’ve made [Team Boss] David Bartrum very happy,” said Butcher.
“We’ve had such a great year with a brand new car. The Ford Focus ST came out of the blocks really fast and it’s been great all year. We’ve had some bad luck, I’ve made some mistakes and it’s been a learning experience. In the middle of the season, two or three rounds in a row we didn’t get everything out of it that we wanted to.
“We’re finishing fifth in the championship and we’ve had numerous podiums, pole positions and wins, but we need to get more consistent next year if we want to challenge someone like Ash.”
After struggling in similar conditions in the opening race of the day, Butcher revealed he felt “really comfortable” with the car en route to victory, even with race one winner Tom Ingram chasing him down in the closing stages.
“I was really comfortable out there and the car was so much better than it had been in race one so I was feeling good. It was only in the last few laps that I saw Tom’s lights start appearing in my mirrors and I thought ‘here we go’ but I kept it together, pushed a little harder to keep the gap and brought it home,” he explained.
“It’s our first year and it’s been a fantastic new car. Our goal for next year is to come back fighting and put in an even stronger fight, with everything we’ve learned about the championship and the car itself, so we’ll be back!”