Aiden Moffat was delighted after securing a front row start for Round 7 of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, the first of a triple-header of races at Thruxton tomorrow.
Moffat, who secured his best ever qualifying result with a best time of 1:16.994s, put himself in strong contention for victory in the first race tomorrow after a tense thirty-minute session this afternoon around the challenging 2.4 mile Hampshire venue, but will start alongside Tom Ingram and ahead of three-time champion, Matt Neal.
Sunday [8th May] will represent the Scot’s best chance so far in his fledgling motorsport career to claim his first victory in the UK’s premier tin-top series, having taken a first podium finish after a frenetic duel with Andy Priaulx at his home event of Knockhill last year.
Commenting on the session, Moffat admitted he expected to be beaten in the final stages by the usual suspects, but was ecstatic to put the Mercedes A-Class on the front row and paid tribute to the hard work of everyone at Laser Tools Racing in helping him achieve the result.
“It’s a great feeling obviously,” explained the Scot.
“We came in a bit early and you’re sitting in the pits and it’s the most nerve wracking thing in the world when you’re expecting a few names to creep up there. Before this my best was eighth so to get right up there is brilliant,”
“This year has been our best start since we’ve been involved. The guys in the team have given us a great setup and a great car and it was all down to me then, and thankfully it all clicked. We’ll certainly be pushing hard.”
Looking ahead to the opening race of the weekend, which gets underway at 12:12 tomorrow afternoon and is live on ITV4 and in HD, Moffat is aiming to latch onto the back of the Toyota Avensis of Ingram in front and is hoping an opportunity will present itself to challenge for the win, highlighting the series unpredictability as a factor to consider.
“If Tom gets away well, he’s a fast, fast driver and it’d be silly to get caught up battling him.” he admitted.
“He’ll be a great person to try and latch onto. Matt Neal is always charging hard to try and get to the front so my mirrors will be full if I can keep him behind off the start. You never know what will happen but we’ll definitely give it a good go.”