EXCELR8 Motorsport's Ronan Pearson set the pace during the morning session at Croft Circuit today (10 April), before rain brought a premature halt to proceedings.

The young Hyundai driver set an impressive pace as the #14 held off a gaggle of BMWs and Fords on the timesheets.

Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport's Jake Hill and Team BMW's Colin Turkington were second and third, as the Bavarian marque continues to show its winter improvements following impressive runs for both Hill and stablemate Adam Morgan at Brands Hatch last week.

The NAPA Racing UK trio of Dan Cammish, Ash Sutton and Dan Rowbottom were third, fourth and fifth respectively, as we begin to get a glimpse of the likely competitiveness in the 2024 BTCC field.

Tom Chilton's #3 EXCELR8 Motorsport Hyundai was next up, ahead of a Speedworks-run treble of Robb Huff, Josh Cook and Andrew Watson – the latter not only setting a solid lap time, but also experiencing an off midway through the session, which brought about one of a few red flag periods during the morning running.

2022 Champion Tom Ingram was one of the drivers who didn't set a competitive lap time during the session, and that opportunity was completely taken away when rain descended onto the North Yorkshire circuit in the final hour of the morning.

The action gets back underway this afternoon and you can follow live timing here.

A full timing classification of the BTCC test at Croft can be found here.

Jake Hill finished the first official test of the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship pre-season on top of the timesheet after a day of mixed conditions at Brands Hatch.

The Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport driver made the most of the ever-improving conditions in the afternoon session to make his mark in the #24 BMW.

The track was still damp from the morning rain as the afternoon session got underway, and it was Josh Cook in his Speedworks-run Toyota leading the way early on, with EXCELR8 Motorsport's Ronan Pearson a close second.

Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing's Árón Taylor-Smith was next in the order as the times started to tumble throughout the afternoon. Cook's consistency was clear to see in his new Toyota, as the Bath racer set several competitive lap times.

Reigning champion Ash Sutton was never far from the action as he continued to place himself third in the standings through both the opening hours. NAPA Racing UK's #1 ended the day just outside the top five in sixth.

The last 30 minutes were where the lap times were coming in thick and fast as the day drew to a close. Hill topping the times with a 47.868 second lap with series returnee Rob Huff taking second for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK and, the morning-session's fastest man, Adam Morgan less than a tenth behind in his Team BMW machine.

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship now moves on to Croft for its second test on 10 April, before the final run at Donington Park on 16 April.

Click here for the full classification from today's test at Brands Hatch.

Team BMW's Adam Morgan set the pace during the opening morning of the first official pre-season BTCC test at Brands Hatch.

The 2024 testing programme got underway today, 3 April, with Morgan setting the benchmark in the drying morning session.

Track action was limited as the lights went green. With only the BMWs of both Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport's Jake Hill and Team BMW’s Colin Turkington taking to the track as conditions were less than ideal during a spell of heavy rain.

Soon after the on-track action ramped up as the rain had settled. A repeat of 2023 took place early on as reigning champion Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing UK) topped the timesheet come the end of the first hour. Hill and Tom Ingram (EXCELR8 Motorsport) followed behind to start 2024 with the same top three of last season.

The rain continued to pour throughout the opening hours as Andrew Watson, new Toyota Gazoo Racing UK driver, topped the times at the end of hour two. 

Watson’s ex-team-mate Árón Taylor-Smith (Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing) was among the drivers climbing the timesheet in the second hour, breaking into the top five before moving to the summit at the end of the third hour.

Conditions improved late on as the track began to dry for the first time of the test. Taylor-Smith's time would see him in tenth as the track was drying and Morgan set his time late on to put his BMW top of the timesheet. Closely followed by Dan Cammish for NAPA Racing UK and the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK of Watson.

"The time is obviously not important at this stage but I feel good in the car and I'm excited about my second season with WSR," said Morgan.

"Seeing what the team has done over the winter is phenomenal. It's incredible to see that every aspect of the car has been looked at and improved."

British Touring Car Championship fans’ favourite Bobby Thompson will join WSR for this week’s official series test on the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on Wednesday, 3 April.

The 28-year-old from Hornchurch, Essex, will drive a BMW 330e M Sport at the Kent track as WSR continues to evaluate options for the fourth car for the coming season.

Bobby has started over 100 BTCC races and achieved his best finish of second at last year’s Brands Hatch round in May.

He will join WSR’s three confirmed race drivers for the season; Colin Turkington, Adam Morgan (both Team BMW) and Jake Hill (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport) at the Brands Hatch test, which is open for race fans to attend.

The BTCC season starts at Donington Park, East Midlands, on April 27-28.

Bobby Thompson said:

“I’m thrilled to test the BMW 330e M Sport at Brands Hatch and I have to thank everybody involved who has worked so hard to create this opportunity. I’ve never had the opportunity to drive a championship-winning car in the BTCC so this will be a first for me and I really hope it can lead to a race seat for the 2024 season. I’m working incredibly hard with my partners to put together a package for this year, but we’re still a bit away from where we need to be in order to make the dream a reality. The BTCC is about to enter a new era with a ground-breaking global broadcast deal with ITV Sport and TikTok, which should be a game-changer in what the series can do to promote a commercial sponsor, and there’s honestly nowhere else I’d rather race. I hope this can be a first step towards something really special.”

Dick Bennetts, WSR Team Principal, said:

“Bobby’s one of a group of talented drivers who have come along in the past few seasons, ruffled a few feathers and achieved some very good results when both the machinery and circumstance have allowed it. He’s one of the drivers right now who has built an incredibly loyal fanbase and someone who definitley enhances the BTCC just by being there. He has plenty of rear-wheel-drive experience, albeit not in a touring car, so this test will focus on getting him comfortable in the BMW and seeing what we can do as a group. This is just a test at this stage as we continue to push very hard to make sure our fourth BMW is on the grid this season, but we’re well aware of Bobby’s determination to race and hope we can play a role in making things happen.”

Following two hugely successful seasons together, NAPA Racing UK is proud to also announce that it has agreed with reigning British Touring Car Champion Ash Sutton a deal that will see him continue to race in NAPA’s iconic colours until the end of 2026. Ash joined forces with NAPA Racing UK ahead of the 2022 season having just secured his third BTCC title, making him the youngest driver to achieve the feat.

Despite having to adapt to the switch back to front-wheel drive for the first time since his rookie campaign in 2016, Ash put his Ford Focus ST on the podium during the opening weekend of the season at Donington Park and would go on to score three wins as he finished the season second in the standings. Ash would also play a key role in helping NAPA Racing UK secure the Teams’ Championship title in its first year as part of Britain’s premier race series. That would be the precursor to a frankly astonishing 2023 season as Ash scored a record-equaling fourth title in stunning fashion - becoming the first driver in series history to win the title in both front-wheel and rear-wheel-drive machinery. Along the way, he equalled Alain Menu’s long-standing record of twelve wins in a season as well as James Thompson’s six pole positions, whilst his 446 points is the highest scored by a driver in a single campaign. The new deal between NAPA Racing UK and Ash will run through to the end of the 2026 season, giving ample opportunity for the 30-year-old to further cement his position as one of the greatest drivers in the long history of the championship. 

Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, said:

“After an incredible two years with the team already and the latter being a record-breaking year claiming my fourth title, this now means I am fully focused to go after more. Let’s get 2024 underway"

The 2024 season will get underway at Donington Park in late April, with NAPA Racing UK again committed to running a multi-car programme as it bids to maintain the high standards set in 2023 and challenge for more championship silverware.