Photo: PSP Images

Tom Chilton takes first pole of 2011 for Ford

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Tom Chilton has taken the first pole position for Arena Motorsport in the 2011 season and the first for the new Ford Focus Mk.III at Knockhill, ahead of Honda’s Matt Neal and Dynojet Toyota driver Frank Wrathall.

The session was interrupted by red flags three times on the drying circuit, after offs by both of Tech-Speed Chevrolets and Chilton’s Arena team-mate Andy Neate, but Chilton held the top spot throughout most of the session to take his first pole since Donington Park last September.

“It is the first pole for us and it just shows you a bit of hard works pays off,” said Chilton to ITV Sport.

“Last year’s Ford is leading the championship, and we’re developing the new one, and it’s just going to get better and better and better.”

Matt Neal, wrestling with injured hand qualified in second place in the Honda Civic, whilst row two sports two full Next Generation Touring Car-specification cars after great laps from Dynojet Racing’s Frank Wrathall and Rob Austin in his team’s Audi A4, both in the final moments of the session.

Gordon Shedden was fifth fastest in the second of the Honda Racing Team Civics, with Jason Plato the fastest of the normally aspirated runners in sixth in the Chevrolet Cruze.

Championship leader Mat Jackson qualified seventh in the 45kg laden Ford Focus ST of Motorbase Performance, and will start ahead of Alex MacDowall’s Chevrolet and Tom Onslow-Cole’s Ford Focus, with Rob Collard’s WSR BMW rounding out the top ten.

The first of tomorrow’s races takes place at 11:45 BST.