Charles Rainford charged to victory in the British Touring Car Championship Race to Pole at a scorching Snetterton.

Earlier in the afternoon, Tom Chilton notched a lap of 1:55.194 in group one of the timed session to place himself ahead of the pack for the Race to Pole. WSR’s Charles Rainford joined him in the first row a couple of tenths behind, both scoring the best starting positions of their season.

Speedworks’ Josh Cook and Team VERTU’s Tom Ingram followed behind, with boost-starved Ash Sutton eighth on the grid for the Saturday afternoon race.

Elsewhere, both Plato Racing cars secured themselves a top-ten start, as Laser Tools Racing’s Árón Taylor-Smith, Team VERTU’s Ricky Collard, and Speedworks’ Max Buxton all struggled at the back of the pack.

At the start of the race, Chilton attempted to hold off Rainford through the opening lap in Norfolk, but the tin-top veteran proved no match as he was pushed wide and fell down the order – before being handed a five-second penalty for an improper starting position, having been slightly too far to the left of his grid box.

Cook’s Corolla surprised its doubters by coming home in a controlled second place, followed by Tom Ingram and NAPA Racing UK’s Dan Cammish a way ahead of the chasing pack.

Dan Rowbottom scored a rebounding fifth for Plato Racing, while Daryl De Leon climbed from tenth to sixth.

Adam Morgan solidified Plato’s day with seventh, as Chilton came home eighth despite his penalty.

James Dorlin fell through the race to ninth, while Sam Osborne rounded out the top 10. Dexter Patterson finished just behind after a quiet outing.

Ricky Collard could only recover to 12ᵗʰ after his poor start to Saturday, with Chris Smiley and Mikey Doble also showing a surprising lack of pace.

Gordon Shedden was amongst that pack, only improving three places on his starting position.

Nicolas Hamilton also had a difficult outing, struggling with his steering on the formation lap and looking threatened to not start the race. He did recover to the grid, but only finished 16ᵗʰ.

At the back, Árón Taylor-Smith finished a lap down after his Brands Hatch heroics, with Aiden Moffat pulling into the grass on the final lap and casting a frustrated figure.

Despite a typically exceptional start that saw him 3ʳᵈ, Ash Sutton suffered a puncture at Coram and retired after repairs to preserve his Ford.

Aside from a frustrating afternoon for Chilton and the strugglers at the back, Saturday’s running at Snetterton could only be described as uneventful.