SCOTS racer Rory Butcher defied tricky conditions at Brands Hatch to bag a haul of British Touring Car Championship points last weekend.
The Fife flyer gambled on slick tyres in the light rain in the opener but still came from the back to finish seventh, then grabbed a third place in race two before ending up fifth in the final race.
He said: “That was a roller coaster of a day. Who said it was a good idea to choose slicks on a damp track? I am so pleased to score some big points and bag our first podium of 2022. My Toyota Corolla is feeling on point… our season starts now.”
Gordon Shedden, also based out of Knockhill circuit, added solid points in his Honda Civic Type R – finishing eighth, sixth and 11th. But the trip to the south-east of England was less profitable for the Infiniti Q50 duo of Aiden Moffat and Dexter Patterson.
Moffat, from Dalkeith, was 22nd and 24th before an excellent 15th in race three, while Glasgow youngster Patterson suffered damage in race one, retired in race two but was 23rd in race three.
Supporting F4 series rookie Oliver Stewart, from Beauly, came eighth overall in the first race, then ninth and finally a sensational fifth. Fergus Chalmers, from Alford, had another good day at Brands in the Ginetta Juniors – racking up 11th, 10th and 12th-place finishes.
Seven Scots were competing in the MINI Challenge UK at the Kent circuit and Fifer Ronan Pearson took top tartan honours, finishing ninth, eighth and sixth.
Also of note, fellow Fifer Joe Tanner came 10th, sixth and eighth, with Falkirk’s Jack Davidson 11th, ninth and fifth in the three races.
Overseas, Kelty’s Dean Macdonald and Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 team-mate Miguel Ramos enjoyed double podium success in the GT World Challenge Europe.
The pair took the Pro-Am win in the first one-hour Sprint Cup encounter at Magny Cours in France and third place in race two, despite the Scot being shunted by a rival early on.
Macdonald said: “Overall, I am very happy with the weekend we had and the pace we were able to show. The car feels great and we are constantly improving as a team.”
Double Le Mans 24-hour class winner Jonny Adam, from Kirkcaldy, produced an excellent performance to help TF Sport to second place in the European Le Mans Series at Monza.
The result for Adam, John Hartshorne and Henrique Chaves in the Aston Martin Vantage meant they left Italy in the joint lead of the GTE class.
Adam said: “It was great to score our first European Le Mans Series podium in only our second race – an incredible result.”
Le Mans Cup star Colin Noble, from Penicuik, was back with Tony Wells for the Monza round but they had to settle for seventh place in the Nielsen Racing Ligier.
Over at Mid-Ohio, Ryan Dalziel, from Airdrie, and Dwight Merriman were hoping to hang on to the IMSA SportsCar Championship LMP2 class lead. But the Era Motorsport duo had to settle for fifth place and drop to second in the standings.
Glasgow star Stevan McAleer and Mike Skeen had hopes of a great result when they qualified second in the Team Korthoff Mercedes – but they came home sixth in class after Skeen suffered a puncture.
McAleer and Alex Premat saw their Pilot Challenge hopes go up in fumes when their car ran out of fuel on the last lap while they were sitting third.
Robin Liddell, from Edinburgh, and Frank DePew were a little happier as they brought the Rebel Rock Racing Chevy Camaro home in ninth place.
Young guns Michael Macpherson, from Inverness, and Portlethen’s Josh Hislop, continued their Britcar Endurance Championship education with 15th place overall at Snetterton – taking second in class – despite gearbox issues.
Gordie Mutch, from Lockerbie, and Jimmy Broadbent had plenty to celebrate when they won the second Praga Cup race at Snetterton in Norfolk.
They had secured pole position by more than a second and Mutch was 1.6 seconds quicker than their nearest rivals for the fastest lap as he had a storming performance to take the victory.
The Scottish Formula Fords had an outing at Croft as part of the National series, with Michael Gray taking three series wins.
On home soil –or gravel – the Jedburgh-based Border Counties Rally provided plenty of incidents and intriguing battles.
But the day was won by Elliot Payne and co-driver Patrick Walsh, who kept their noses clean aboard their Ford Fiesta Rally2. They sealed the top spot by 14 seconds from David Henderson and Chris Lees in their Fiesta R5.
Number one seeds Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson rounded out the podium in third, driving their Fiesta WRC. Local aces Michael Binnie and Claire Mole had to settle for fifth in their Mitsubishi Evo.
This weekend, reigning British Superbike Champion Tarran Mackenzie hopes to return to action having been sidelined until now by injury. But the McAMS Yamaha rider, from Stirlingshire, should be able to compete in round three at Donington Park.
Perth’s Rory Skinner, lying third in the standings, will also look to increase his points tally on board his FS-3 Racing Kawasaki.
