Jason Plato has qualified on pole position for the first of today’s (Sunday) three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Knockhill circuit in Scotland.

On his final lap on a drying track, Plato (Oxford) moved to the front of the grid with a pole position time of 57.467s in his SEAT Leon. It is Plato’s third pole of 2006 and earns him a bonus point.

Joining him on the front row of the grid tomorrow will be SEAT team-mate Darren Turner (Banbury) who set a time of 57.607s with his last lap of the session.

Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi and Team Halfords Honda driver Gordon Shedden – from Dunfermline, very much the home hero in Scotland – were third and fourth.

Team Halfords’ Matt Neal (Droitwich) and Team RAC MG driver Colin Turkington (Portadown), the two championship leaders, will start alongside each other from fifth and sixth positions.

Today's three races, all 24 laps in length, will take place at 11.10, 13.40 and 15.50. As at all BTCC meetings, race three will receive live national television coverage on the ITV1 channel.