Jack Butel handed penalty for qualifying clash

Jack Butel will start the opening BTCC race of the weekend at Silverstone from the back of the grid after being handed a penalty for his clash with James Gornall in qualifying.

Butel’s Ciceley Motorsport Mercedes made contact with Gornall’s Trade Price Cars Audi on the Wellington straight in the early stages of qualifying, breaking the front right wheel on Gornall’s car and forcing him out of the session.

Butel was able to rejoin after a red flag to recover the stricken Audi from the circuit and posted the 20th best time, but was then called to the stewards to discuss the incident.

The end result was a seven place grid penalty and three points on his racing licence. Ciceley appealed against the decision, but the penalty was upheld, which means he drops to the back of the field.