Jason Plato has taken the championship initiative this afternoon at Brands Hatch by setting the fastest time in qualifying. Plato’s time of 48.647 was 0.133 seconds faster than second-placed Matt Neal. Gordon Shedden was third fastest meaning the top 3 in the championship will start the first race tomorrow from the front.
Click here for the full Round 28 qualifying times.
Plato’s pole position around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit is his first of the year and comes after he topped both of the morning practice sessions. In a show of just how strong his Chevrolet Cruze has become the 42-year-old set the time with the maximum 45kg of ballast on board to earn himself a bonus point for pole position – which could prove curcial if the title is closely fought during tomorrow’s races.
Said Plato after qualifying: “My first pole of the season – I couldn’t have timed it better! It’s been a fantastic qualifying – not just the session but the way everyone has prepared for it and gone about today. We were fastest in both practice sessions this morning and again now. To do that with maximum ballast in the car is very pleasing.”
First of the two Honda’s was Neal who is currently second in the championship and Plato’s biggest rival. With Shedden third fastest he cannot be ruled out in the first of tomorrow’s races – especially as he is carrying the least ballast of the top 3 at just 27kg. Honda’s strong qualifying performance will be well received by the marque, who just days ago announced its intention to continue as a manufacturer entry in the 2011 BTCC.
The fourth driver in contention for the championship, Tom Onslow-Cole, had a lacklustre session and he could only manage 10th fastest. “It is still all to play for, although that obviously wasn’t the qualifying we needed,” said Onslow-Cole. “We are throwing everything at it though, we just needed a few tenths to be up there with Jason. We took a risk on the set-up to try and find that time, which didn’t pay off. We can bounce back from this though, I need a good start and hopefully we can come through to the top five, then it is all to play for in race two.”
Alex MacDowall made sure he did all he could to aid his team-mate Plato’s championship challenge by setting the fourth fastest time to ensure his rivals don’t have an easy ride. Tom Chilton was fifth fastest and is well placed to help Team Aon to the independent team’s championship if he can beat the Airwaves BMW cars in tomorrow’s races. Mat Jackson, who was sixth fastest, will be trying his hardest to ensure that Airwaves BMW can seal their first championship in the BTCC however.
James Nash was seventh fastest, whilst his team-mate this weekend, Sam Tordoff, will start alongside. It was an incredible qualifying effort from BTCC debutant Tordoff, who sealed the top ten position in the last ten minutes of the session.
Paul O’Neill was ninth fastest in the final race weekend for the iconic Honda Integra and he will be joined on the fifth row of the grid by championship contender Tom Onslow-Cole.
The session, which was broadcast online for the first-ever time by the itv.com website, had several stoppages. Lea Wood caused the first red flag by going off at Clearways whilst John George also caused a stoppage with a spin. They will start 17th and 20th respectively.
Another BTCC newcomer making his debut this weekend is former ‘Stig’ Ben Collins. The Airwaves BMW driver had a difficult session however as he failed to set a time and will therefore start from 22nd for his first race. It follows on from two disastrous practice sessions in which his BMW suffered gearbox problems.
David Pinkney also failed to set a time due to engine problems in his Vauxhall Vectra and there remains a question mark over whether the team will be able to fix the car in time for tomorrow’s races. James Kaye, making his second race meeting in a Honda Integra, also failed to set a time.