Pirtek Racing's Andrew Jordan claimed the fourth pole position of his BTCC career after a blistering last gasp qualifying lap at Thruxton today (4 May).
The 23-year-oldsecond in the current driver standingswaited until the final minute to set the ultimate pace that eclipsed the Honda Yuasa Racing pair of Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal.
Jordan continued his run of qualifying in the first three positions at each round so far this season and also starting from the second row or higher at Thruxton in each of the last four years. The car was fantastic and Im looking forward to tomorrow, he said. I was relaxed after the win at Donington and I love it here too. I was really hanging on during the lap but it was a lot of fun.
Shedden looked set to secure his second pole position in as many rounds after an early dash of 1:16.894s saw the Scotsman beat Jordans pole time from 2012. Both he and team-mate Matt Neal ran in tandem during the early laps, looking to gain a slipstream advantage at the high-speed Hampshire circuit, but Neal had to wait until a later run to force his way up the order into third.
The MG KX Momentum team had to settle for fourth and fifth with Jason Plato and Sam Tordoff respectively, but championship leader Plato was reasonably happy with his position. Were still not quite there with the car but to set that time with maximum weight on board was a decent effort, he said.
An exciting battle to get inside the top six ensued throughout the 30-minute session, as Jeff Smith, Tom Onslow-Cole and Frank Wrathall traded places on several occasions. It was Smith that eventually made the place stick, but the Pirtek Racing drivers session ended off track after he ran wide at the ultra-fast Church corner and lost control of his Honda Civic.
Onslow-Cole produced an impressive performance in his VW Passat to hold off Wrathalls Toyota for seventh. Its going really well and the progress of the car has been fantastic. I made a few mistakes on the lap and should have been a bit faster, but its a great place to start from tomorrow, beamed the Team HARD. driver.
Dave Newsham and Colin Turkington rounded out the top tenthe latter completing a speedy spin that dislodged the windscreen from his BMW 125i M Sport just after he'd crossed the line to set his fastest time of the day.
Adam Morgans Toyota Avensis lines up on the sixth row of the grid after he pipped the Airwaves Racing duo of Aron Smith and Mat Jackson.
The battle for top spot among the Jack Sears Trophy runners ended in success for Joe Girling in his Chevrolet Cruze after a great late effort put him ahead of Lea Woods Vauxhall Vectra and James Kayes VW Golf.
All the action from rounds 7, 8, and 9 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship taking place at Thruxton tomorrow (Sunday 5 May) will be screened live on ITV4 from 10:45.
2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car ChampionshipThruxton - Qualifying
1. Andrew Jordan (Pirtek Racing): 1:16.5272. Gordon Shedden (Honda Yuasa Racing): +0.2703. Matt Neal (Honda Yuasa Racing): +0.3674. Jason Plato (MG KX Momentum Racing): +0.5185. Sam Tordoff (MG KX Momentum Racing): +1.0326. Jeff Smith (Pirtek Racing): +1.0417. Tom Onslow-Cole (PPCGB / Kraftwerk Racing): +1.2638. Frank Wrathall (Dynojet): +1.2969. Dave Newsham (Speedworks Motorsport): +1.39110. Colin Turkington (eBay Motors): +1.48511. Adam Morgan (Ciceley Racing): +1.1.53012. Aron Smith (Airwaves Racing): +1.87413. Mat Jackson (Airwaves Racing): +2.05314. Jack Goff (RCIB Insurance Racing): +2.25315. Ollie Jackson (Speedworks Motorsport): +2.40616. Rob Collard (eBay Motors): +2.94717. Nick Foster (eBay Motors): +2.99418. Will Bratt (WIX Racing): +3.38519. Daniel Welch (Welch Motorsport with Sopp + Sopp): +3.50520. James Cole (RCIB Insurance Racing): +3.70721. Joe Girling (M247 Racing with Tech-Speed Motorsport): +3.84222. Lea Wood (Wheel Heaven / Houseman Racing): +3.89723. James Kaye (AmDTuning.com): +4.32424. Liam Griffin (Addison Lee Motorbase): +4.71625. Rob Austin (WIX Racing): +4.82326. Warren Scott (Team BMR Restart): +4.97327. David Nye (Welch Motorsport with Sopp + Sopp): +5.080
