Kent man Jake Hill kicked off his home race weekend by topping a drizzly Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship Free Practice session at Brands Hatch.

It was dry when the hour-long session commenced, hence the majority of the fastest laps being set early on before a downpour of rain descended on the famous venue.

Hill’s MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square Honda has always been a potent weapon around the 1.2-mile Indy circuit and that proved to be the case again in mixed dry-wet conditions.

“I love Brands,” said Hill. “It’s my home and we’ve always gone well here. That’s the second free practice session we’ve topped here this year so that’s good.

“It’s been a great start to the morning, can’t get any better than that! 

“I’m feeling ready for it definitely. The car’s really great. It’s hooked up and we’ve definitely got something left in the tank so I’m feeling positive.”

The performance followed yesterday’s news that Hill will be staying with the same outfit for the 2021 BTCC season.

“It’s fantastic to sign with MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square for 2021,” he continued. “The team’s been fantastic to me this year and we know that if we hadn’t had those engine issues at the start that we’d be heading into this final fight for the championship as well. I’m very happy with where I am and I can’t wait to get going with them next year. 

“I’m going to just do my thing this weekend and obviously try my best to not get tangled up with anyone. It’s their championship to lose. If they want to play the game with me they’re going to have to try hard.”

Despite the rain, more than 1000 laps were completed by the field as the track remained busy for the duration. 

Title contenders Ash Sutton, Dan Cammish, Tom Ingram and Rory Butcher were close behind on the timesheets, with Laser Tools Racing’s Aiden Moffat among them. 

The two Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundais of Chris Smiley and Senna Proctor were inside the top, as was Motorbase Performance’s Ollie Jackson and BTC Racing’s Josh Cook. 

Our colleagues at ITV Sport have you covered later today with an extended Saturday online streaming session via www.itv.com/btcc.

BTCC qualifying will commence at 12:35 – a critical session ahead of Sunday’s grand finale – and the coverage will include all the on-track drama, as well as driver interviews with Louise Goodman and the rest of the ITV Sport team. Furthermore, the session will conclude the battle for the Goodyear Wingfoot Award, as this year’s best overall qualifier will be crowned.

Motorsport fans will then be treated to a quintet of crucial support races as the Ginetta GT4 Supercup, Mini Challenge, Ginetta Junior, British F4 and Carrera Cup GB reach an exciting climax across the weekend.

2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice – Brands Hatch Indy

1        Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square 54.678s
2        Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.225s
3        Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.330s 
4        Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.376s 
5        Tom INGRAM (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters +0.393s
6        Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.515s
7        Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.610s 
8        Chris SMILEY (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +0.753s
9        Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +1.024s 
10      Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +1.039s 
11      Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +1.048s
12      Tom CHILTON (GBR) BTC Racing +1.078s 
13      Adam MORGAN (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +1.111s
14      Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +1.125s
15      Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.202s
16      Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +1.207s
17      Michael CREES (GBR) The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing +1.452s
18      Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +1.530s 
19      Andy NEATE (GBR) Motorbase Performance +1.641s
20      Glynn GEDDIE (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +1.691s
21      Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Team HARD +1.702s
22      Sam OSBORNE (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +1.838s
23      Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) HUB Financial Solutions with Team HARD +2.056s
24      Paul RIVETT (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +2.210s
25      Brad PHILPOT (GBR) Power Maxed Car Care Racing +2.358s
26      Jack BUTEL (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +2.489s
27      Ethan HAMMERTON (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +2.629s