Photo: PSP Images

Team Aon break one minute barrier to secure front row

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Tom Onslow-Cole and Tom Chilton set times which blitzed the rest of the field to claim the front row within the first five minutes of the session. The Silverline Chevrolets had to settle for row two, the best part of a second behind the turbo powered duo.

Tom Onslow-Cole smashed the previous qualifying record set by Mat Jackson last year, and for the first time set a qualifying lap at the National circuit under one minute to claim pole position comfortably.

Closest to the Focus ST’s was Alex MacDowall in third, seven-tenths of a second behind in the Chevrolet Cruze. McDowall will start just ahead of team mate Jason Plato who’s carrying the maximum 45kg of ballast at the track.

Matt Neal’s newly up rated engine helped the Honda Racing Team driver secure fifth place on the grid, whilst team mate Gordon Shedden had to settle for tenth place.

Mat Jackson lost his lap times part way through the session after failing the ride height test. His initial time was good enough to put the BMW in ninth, but a recovery effort set late in the session was good enough only for 13th.

The top BMW was West Surrey Racing’s Rob Collard, who will start eighth.

Martin Depper didn’t take part in the session, and Phil Glew in the new NGTC powered SEAT Leon also suffered problems and didn’t set a time, which relegate the two drivers to the back alongside Boulevard Team Racing’s Martin Johnson when he joins the grid on Sunday.