The 22-year-old Scot whisked his Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N Fastback around the North Yorkshire circuit with a lap just 0.117 seconds slower than the 2023 pole time in the middle of the morning session.
That effort left him 0.072s clear of Jake Hill, last week’s Brands test-topper emerging second fastest this time at the wheel of his West Surrey Racing-run BMW 330e M Sport.
