LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing's Mikey Doble took his first Qualifying Race victory in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone.
Doble started from pole position after a superb lap in the earlier qualifying session, but a rapid getaway from Daryl De Leon put the WSR BMW ahead as the young pair led the field into Copse for the first time.
Championship leader Ash Sutton had only qualified a frustrating 17th, and his weekend worsened when the four-time champion spun his NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus on the opening lap of the Qualifying Race.
With Sutton and title rivals Dan Cammish (NAPA Racing UK) and Tom Ingram (Team VERTU) all buried in the pack, the race opened the door for a different group of drivers to fight at the front.
De Leon's advantage didn't last long, however, as Doble blasted his Audi A3 Saloon by down the back straight on lap three, whilst teammate Aiden Moffat also closed in on the now second placed BMW.
Dexter Patterson came out on top of an eye-catching battle with Sam Osborne at the lower end of the top ten on lap six, before a safety car intervention followed just two laps later.
The interruption came after debutant Osamu Kawashima beached his Team VERTU Hyundai in the gravel, as the Japanese driver continued adapting to BTCC machinery and the demands of Britain's most competitive motorsport championship.
The top three remained consistent for much of the contest until De Leon faded with three laps to go, allowing Moffat to slip through into second while Team VERTU's Tom Chilton grabbed third.
Doble took the chequered flag to secure his maiden Qualifying Race win, leading teammate Moffat home for an impressive LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing one-two.
De Leon ended up fourth behind Chilton, whilst Daniel Lloyd (Restart Racing) and Josh Cook (Speedworks Corolla Racing) rounded out the top six finishers.
Charles Rainford (WSR) and Adam Morgan (CPRL) were next in the order with the Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport Toyota duo of Aron Taylor-Smith and Gordon Shedden completing the top ten.
Sutton could only recover to finish 15th but still takes his commanding 115-point advantage over teammate Cammish into tomorrow's penultimate race day of the season, while reigning champion Ingram sits a further eight points adrift.
With six races of the season remaining, Sutton's pursui
t of a record-breaking fifth Drivers' title could well be decided at Silverstone's Super Sunday, with the action getting underway from 1030 on ITV4
Silverstone - Qualifying Race - Result:
P/ No/ Name/ Entry/ Laps/ Time/ Gap/ Best/ On/
1 88 Mikey DOBLE LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing 18 18:34.808 56.808 6
2 16 Aiden MOFFAT LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing 18 18:37.334 2.526 56.926 3
3 3 Tom CHILTON Team VERTU 18 18:37.857 3.049 57.112 5
4 2 Daryl DE LEON WSR 18 18:39.245 4.437 56.873 6
5 123 Daniel LLOYD Restart Racing 18 18:39.896 5.088 57.179 3
6 66 Josh COOK Speedworks Corolla Racing 18 18:40.457 5.649 57.483 5
7 99 Charles RAINFORD WSR 18 18:42.623 7.815 57.126 4
8 33 Adam MORGAN CPRL 18 18:42.793 7.985 57.212 4
9 50 Árón TAYLOR-SMITH Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport 18 18:43.466 8.658 57.469 5
10 52 Gordon SHEDDEN Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport 18 18:43.812 9.004 57.252 4
11 17 Dexter PATTERSON Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing 18 18:44.111 9.303 57.247 4
12 80 Tom INGRAM Team VERTU 18 18:44.937 10.129 57.578 5
13 15 Lewis SELBY NAPA Racing UK 18 18:45.524 10.716 57.623 5
14 116 Ashley SUTTON NAPA Racing UK 18 18:46.435 11.627 57.743 3
15 27 Dan CAMMISH NAPA Racing UK 18 18:46.787 11.979 57.433 5
16 7 Ryan BENSLEY Speedworks Corolla Racing 18 18:47.246 12.438 57.512 5
17 32 Daniel ROWBOTTOM CPRL 18 18:49.425 14.617 57.503 4
18 29 Lewis GILBERT WSR 18 18:54.690 19.882 57.627 7
19 55 Nick HALSTEAD Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing 18 18:57.522 22.714 57.567 4
20 28 Nicolas HAMILTON Team VERTU 18 18:58.191 23.383 57.859 5
21 77 Sam OSBORNE NAPA Racing UK 18 19:00.332 25.524 57.413 4
22 22 Chris SMILEY Restart Racing 17 18:49.374 1 Lap 57.270 5
DNF 81 Osamu KAWASHIMA Team VERTU 6 6:15.278 12 Laps 59.715 6
