SHEDDEN ACHIEVES FIRST BTCC POLE POSITION AT THRUXTON
Gordon Shedden has qualified on pole position for the first
of tomorrow's (Sunday) three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car
Championship rounds at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.
Shedden, in his Team Halfords Honda Integra, set the pole
time in 1m17.833s. It is the Scottish driver's first ever
BTCC pole. Second fastest was the Team RAC MG of Colin Turkington
on 1m17.913s, while Tom Chilton in Vauxhall's Astra Sport
Hatch was third on 1m18.052s.
Reigning champion and current points leader Matt Neal, in
his Halfords Honda, was fourth fastest, just ahead of chief
title rival Jason Plato's SEAT in fifth. Local drivers Robert
Collard (Hook), in his Team RAC MG, and James Kaye (Isle of
Wight), in his Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic, qualified eighth
and 12th fastest. However, Collard's session came to a smoky
halt when his Team RAC MG blew its engine and suffered fire
damage.
Shedden was elated to have achieved pole on what is the fastest
circuit on the calendar - his time was set at an average speed
of close to 110mph. The 27-year-old Scot said: "Mega,
I'm absolutely delighted. At a circuit where you only brake
twice it's important to have a car that's quick down the straights
and I have to thank my team-mate for giving me a good tow
- it was a great team effort between us. I'm also confident
we have a strong race set-up."
Turkington, currently fourth in the championship, was equally
pleased with second spot, considering his car is carrying
18kgs of success ballast and a mechanical problem had meant
he missed the day's first practice session. Chilton, meanwhile,
believed he would have been on pole for the second year running
had it not been for a wild moment exiting the ultra-fast Church
corner. "My data shows I was three tenths of a second
up at that point, but I just ran a bit wide and went over
the grass," explained the 21-year-old. "If I'd held
on then pole would have been mine. I'm annoyed."
Neal, his car carrying maximum success ballast, said he was
"delighted" with fourth position. Neal, who has
never won at Thruxton, added: "It was great team work
between me and Gordon - I gave him a tow, he gave me a tow.
We always ran in convoy and that gave us an edge and we needed
it because the times were very close. Without it, I might
have been two or three places further back."
Plato, third in the championship but in effect second as
regular team-mate James Thompson is not at Thruxton, remained
in optimistic mood ahead of Sunday's three races. "We've
got fantastic grip but are struggling for straight line speed,"
said the 2001 BTCC champion. "Trying to score more points
than Matt tomorrow is the goal, but it is difficult to overtake
here." Qualifying a strong sixth alongside Plato on the
grid was Darren Turner, Thruxton marking not only his BTCC
debut but also the first time this season that he will replace
World Touring Car Championship-tied Thompson.
Tomorrow's three races, rounds ten, 11 and 12 of the championship,
are scheduled to start at 11.00, 13.50 and 17.20. Britain's
number one commercial terrestrial television channel ITV1
will be at Thruxton to broadcast live coverage of the action
from 16.30 onwards
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