James Cole: “Changeable conditions are the great equaliser”

Qualifying at Brands Hatch saw a breakthrough performance for James Cole and United Autosports, with a fourth row grid slot representing the best performance in the BTCC to date for both driver and team.

Cole judged the conditions well and put his Toyota Avensis seventh on the grid, and was one of four drivers in the top 10 to post their best grid slots of the season.

The performance was doubly impressive due to Cole sitting out first practice while the team fitted some last-minute parts to his extensively rebuilt Avensis, and it being his first experience of the Grand Prix loop in a touring car.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Cole said: “Especially after missing FP1, if somebody had said I’d be P7, I wouldn’t have believed them.

“Changeable conditions are the great equaliser. I’ve got confidence in myself, I’ve got confidence in the team, it’s just the package hasn’t shown its full capability up until now.

“Now let’s see if we can stay there. Hopefully we can. It’s looking like changeable conditions tomorrow, and it’s certainly not going to be a boring day.

“I just want three solid finishes, and not to get hit by anyone!”

Cole said it was a mixture of skill and luck that helped him negotiate the lauded Grand Prix circuit, which he hasn’t raced on since his single seater days.

He said: “It was dry-ish, and when the sun’s out you can see the dry patches. When it’s shadowy, you go into Hawthorns at 130mph and wonder ‘is it dry?’ – and luckily it stuck.

“Sometimes you need luck on your side, and we had it today. It’s nice to get the first top 10 for the team, and to be top Toyota.

“It is the most exciting track of the year, and given the time of year, it always adds that element of spice, because of the weather.

“It’s a very hard circuit mentally to get used to. You can’t test here because of the noise regulations, and I’ve not been here since 2010.

“It’s a fantastic circuit, and I imagine racing around here is going to be really fun.”