AmD with AutoAid/RCIB Insurance Racing driver Rory Butcher had a torrid weekend in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton and the Fife man aimed to make amends last weekend at Rockingham.
Rory was also joined by a new team-mate in the form of Glynn Geddie, setting up a Scottish dream team in the MG6 GT’s ran by AmD.
Rory’s qualifying time was just six tenths off of pole position. Any other circuit away from Rockingham might have seen Rory within the top ten. However, he was to line up twentieth with some work to do in the races.
Avoiding incident on the first lap, Rory managed to make up ground into the points scoring positions before working his way into the top ten and ninth place at the flag. A strong start to his Sunday work.
Race two didn’t see a dip in form as the Scotsman fought hard for his top ten placing and finished the race in eighth place. Another fantastic drive rewarded with a front row start in race three after the reverse grid draw.
Running in second early on in the race, Butcher was to enjoy a battle with title contender Colin Turkington. A mistake at the Deene hairpin dropped Rory down to sixth where he was to finish. Finishing his best ever race weekend in the BTCC.
Despite losing out on a possible podium, Rory was still pleased with his trio of top tens.
“I’m really pleased with how the weekend went and it was a good way for us to bounce back from the disappointment of not scoring at Snetterton.
“After such a tight qualifying session, I felt confident that we could race forwards as we have had a strong race car throughout the season – and that proved to be correct.
“It was all about making sure that we stayed out of trouble at the start of the races, particularly in the mixed conditions, but I think I drove well and felt in a good place going into race three.
“I was determined to try and get to the front early on but perhaps took a bit too much out of the tyres and was struggling for grip.
“It was a shame that we had the little trip off but if I’m being honest, I’m not sure if I would have been able to keep the three guys behind at bay because of the way our tyres dropped off.
“I’m not going to beat myself up about it because three top ten finishes is a great weekend for us and a nice boost going into my home round at Knockhill in a few weeks.”
