Charles Rainford set the pace in the opening British Touring Car Championship practice session on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, with a late lap seeing him edge WSR stable-mate Jake Hill by 0.137 seconds.
Laser Tools Racing’s Hill had led the way for much of the session, going top after six minutes with the first meaningful lap of the session.
After 20 minutes, NAPA Racing UK’s Daniel Rowbottom went to the top with two quick laps, his best being a time of 47.627 seconds, before Restart Racing’s Chris Smiley went quickest following quickly by Rainford’s first session-topping time.
After Smiley and Team Vertu’s Adam Morgan then followed quickly with their own session-topping times, Hill returned to the top 27 minutes into the session with his best of 47.472 seconds, which stood for just over ten minutes until he was usurped by Rainford with a 47.335 on the medium-compound tyre.
Rainford’s lap is already two tenths of a second below the qualifying lap record of 47.539 seconds set by Colin Turkington in 2022, with the outright BTCC lap record posted in 1999 during the Super Touring era over a second quicker.
Hill was 0.137 seconds adrift, with Dan Cammish the leading NAPA driver in third, just under two tenths further back.
Morgan was the best of the Hyundais in fourth, ahead of team-mate Tom Ingram in fifth, the EXCELR8 driver 0.227 seconds off Rainford.
Smiley was sixth, ahead of Power Maxed Racing’s Mikey Doble in seventh, whilst Rowbottom ended up in eighth.
The top ten was completed by One Motorsport’s Josh Cook and NAPA’s Ash Sutton, who completed the most laps in the session.
Second practice is scheduled to get underway at 12:15 BST.
Session results
| POS | NO | NAT | DRIVER | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 99 |  |
Charles RAINFORD | LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR | BMW 330i M Sport | 26 | 47.335 | – |
| 2 | 1 | |
Jake HILL | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | BMW 330i M Sport | 23 | 47.472 | 0.137 |
| 3 | 27 | |
Dan CAMMISH | NAPA Racing UK | Ford Focus ST | 22 | 47.531 | 0.196 |
| 4 | 33 | |
Adam MORGAN | Team Vertu | Hyundai i30 N Fastback | 27 | 47.533 | 0.198 |
| 5 | 80 | |
Tom INGRAM | Team Vertu | Hyundai i30 N Fastback | 20 | 47.562 | 0.227 |
| 6 | 22 | |
Chris SMILEY | Restart Racing | Hyundai i30 N Fastback | 25 | 47.590 | 0.255 |
| 7 | 88 | |
Mikey DOBLE | Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 26 | 47.618 | 0.283 |
| 8 | 32 | |
Daniel ROWBOTTOM | NAPA Racing UK | Ford Focus ST | 25 | 47.627 | 0.292 |
| 9 | 66 | |
Josh COOK | One Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R | 21 | 47.629 | 0.294 |
| 10 | 100 | |
Ashley SUTTON | NAPA Racing UK | Ford Focus ST | 31 | 47.640 | 0.305 |
| 11 | 40 |  |
Árón TAYLOR-SMITH | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 28 | 47.686 | 0.351 |
| 12 | 77 | |
Sam OSBORNE | NAPA Racing UK | Ford Focus ST | 27 | 47.731 | 0.396 |
| 13 | 16 | |
Aiden MOFFAT | LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR | BMW 330i M Sport | 27 | 47.751 | 0.416 |
| 14 | 123 | |
Daniel LLOYD | Restart Racing | Hyundai i30 N Fastback | 26 | 47.806 | 0.471 |
| 15 | 3 | |
Tom CHILTON | Team Vertu | Hyundai i30 N Fastback | 21 | 47.839 | 0.504 |
| 16 | 132 | |
James DORLIN | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 26 | 47.851 | 0.516 |
| 17 | 777 | |
Michael CREES | Team Vertu | Hyundai i30 N Fastback | 27 | 47.888 | 0.553 |
| 18 | 28 | |
Nicolas HAMILTON | Powder Monkey Brewing Co with Esidock | CUPRA Leon | 25 | 47.897 | 0.562 |
| 19 | 12 | |
Stephen JELLEY | One Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R | 29 | 47.900 | 0.565 |
| 20 | 2 |  |
Daryl DELEON | WSR | BMW 330i M Sport | 29 | 47.939 | 0.604 |
| 21 | 14 | |
Ronan PEARSON | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 29 | 48.077 | 0.742 |
| 22 | 93 | |
Max HALL | ROKiT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport | CUPRA Leon | 27 | 48.087 | 0.752 |
| 23 | 17 | |
Dexter PATTERSON | ROKiT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport | CUPRA Leon | 27 | 48.132 | 0.797 |
| 24 | 52 | |
Gordon SHEDDEN | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 17 | 48.169 | 0.834 |
| 25 | 50 | |
Nick HALSTEAD | Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 23 | 51.526 | 4.191 |