Tom Chilton has qualified on pole position for the first of today’s title-deciding Dunlop MSA British Touring car Championship rounds at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire. Chilton, aged 23 from Reigate, achieved his first pole of 2007 with a lap time of 1m17.269s to lead a Vauxhall team 1-2-3 ahead of team-mates, Italian Fabrizio Giovanardi and Swiss Alain Menu.

SEAT’s Jason Plato, driving in pain with burns to his hands, neck and face, qualified fourth fastest. Oxford-based Plato will go into tomorrow’s races holding a nine-point championship lead over Giovanardi with a maximum of 52 on offer. Vauxhall and SEAT, meanwhile, are locked in combat for the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ titles. Vauxhall has drafted in past double champion Menu and SEAT Dutch driver Tom Coronel to boost their chances.

Tomorrow will also decide the four-way scrap for the BTCC’s Independents’ crown between Team Eurotech Honda driver Mike Jordan and BMW rivals Colin Turkington, Mat Jackson and Tom Onslow-Cole. Team RAC’s Turkington, three points behind leader Jordan with 45 on offer, got the upper hand in qualifying with the sixth fastest time.

Thruxton’s BTCC action will be broadcast live  today from 12.30pm-2pm on ITV4 and 3.30pm-5pm on ITV1.

Leading qualifying positions, Thruxton (provisional):1. Tom Chilton (GBR), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, 1m17.269s (109.76mph)2. Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, + 0.170s3. Alain Menu (SUI), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, +0.342s4. Jason Plato (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, +0.587s5. Matt Neal (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Civic, +0.618s6. Colin Turkington (GBR), Team RAC/BMW 320si, +0.660s

7. Darren Turner (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, +0.678s8. Mike Jordan (GBR), Eurotech-John Guest-Speedfit/Honda Integra, +0.750s9. Gordon Shedden (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Civic, +0.798s10. Matt Allison (GBR), Motorbase Performance/SEAT Toledo, +0.956s

Chilton, back in ninth in the points standings and yet to win for Vauxhall, was ecstatic with his performance. He said: “That’s my second pole here in two different cars. I love the place. The buzz is even bigger knowing I’ve beaten two world-class drivers. Vauxhall is very much in the driving seat for tomorrow and the Manufacturers’ crown could be going our way. Three good races could also get me up to sixth in the points so I’m going for it.”

Giovanardi, with eight wins so far this season, was not giving too much away. The Modena driver said: “I did my time without having to do too many laps so we’ve kept our tyres in good shape. My team-mates are around me so I’m happy, but Plato is right there like normal so it will not be easy.”

Plato, being tended to by a nurse when out of his car, remained optimistic about adding a second BTCC title to that which he won in 2001. He said: “I could have been right in with the Vauxhalls – I was in the slipstream of my team-mate Darren Turner but I had a big sideways moment through Church Corner. So I lost the tow in the final part of the lap which cost me maybe 3/10ths of a second. I’m feeling a lot more comfortable in the car than I thought I would – natural adrenaline is a great thing! I’m also confident in our race pace which should be quite a bit stronger than our qualifying form.”