Nick Tandy claimed a double pole position for the final two rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB during qualifying at Silverstone  (Saturday 15 October). There were dramatically contrasting fortunes for the three title contenders as Michael Meadows and James Sutton shared second and third places, but Stephen Jelley had a torrid time and will start down in seventh and ninth places for the two races. Jonas Gelzinis twice headed Pro-Am1, while it was honours even between Pro-Am2 contenders Keith Webster and George Brewster who shared the category pole positions.With the ambient temperature steadily rising, it was generally the first part of the session that delivered the best times and Tandy (Nationwide/Motorbase) judged the situation perfectly to break the 56s mark and take pole for round 18. He then posted a second best lap of 56.107s to complete a double pole, without needing to use his second set of tyres. At the end of the session he went out on his second set of tyres and did one lap to scrub them in. “It all went to plan,” said Tandy. “We planned the traffic quite well and the car was perfect for the two laps we needed.”Things were almost as good for Meadows and Sutton, who both did two strong times on their first sets of tyres and didn’t even run their second sets. Those tyres will be scrubbed in on the green flag laps for the race. “We thought it might be quick at the start of the session, so we pushed very hard straight away,” said Meadows. “It’s very good for us.” Sutton was equally pleased to run strongly in qualifying. “There is still a long way to go but I’m very excited,” he said. All three drivers should be in good shape on tyres as the races progress into the later stages.A gaggle of quick drivers led the chase of the top three, headed by Sam Tordoff (Team Parker Racing) for the opening race. “We just chipped away and I’m happy to be P4; it’s back where I need to be,” said Tordoff. P4 for the second race went to Ben Hetherington (Oman Air/Redline) after a strong session while Gelzinis (Juta Racing) was fifth overall on both grids to head Pro-Am1. “That was okay; we have consistent speed,” said Gelzinis. Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) was second in Pro-Am1 with ninth and eighth places overall. “I got two good laps on the first set of tyres,” said Butcher as George Richardson (Motorbase Performance) and Ahmad Al Harthy (Oman Air/Redline) shared the third places.The driver in most trouble in qualifying was Stephen Jelley (Parker with Juta) who lost out in traffic and ended the session with only seventh and ninth places. That leaves Jelley a long way back from title rivals Meadows and Sutton and with a mountain to climb if he is to challenge them for the title.In Pro-Am2, Webster (Redline Racing) and Brewster (Celtic Speed) maintained the championship status quo by taking a pole position each. “I did nothing on my first set of tyres so I went out on the second set and went quicker,” said Webster. Brewster was content to have retained his slender points’ advantage over his rival. “One pole each is okay and we’re cool with that. We know it is going to be very close,” said Brewster. Close behind the title rivals came Steve Parish (Motorbase Performance) and Richard Denny (Parr Motorsport).