Aaron Williamson stuns on BTCC debut

Team HARD’s new signing Aaron Williamson qualified in eighth place on his debut in the BTCC in the team’s Honda Civic, in doing so taking the team’s best qualifying result in its short history.

The former Renault UK Clio Cup and Ginetta GT Supercup driver is taking part in his first BTCC meeting this weekend at the Brands Hatch circuit, driving the re-liveried Honda Civic FN2 which was raced by Team Dynamics in the 2011 season.

Williamson went on to qualify in eighth place, just one spot behind championship leader Gordon Shedden and just over seven-tenths of a second down on pole-sitter Tom Onslow-Cole.

“The aim was to finish the weekend in the top ten, but to start it I couldn’t ask for more,” said Williamson to TouringCarTimes.

“The team has just done a great job and it’s all credit to them. As a rookie coming into (the championship), to drive a car fast is hard enough as it is, and the team have put such a good car under me and we’re in with the championship runners.”

“In all the free practices we didn’t really do any laps, we just run things in so we didn’t know what our true pace was until qualifying, and (the team) kept believing in me and saying you will have pace. It’s all credit to them and thanks to everybody who’s got me here and all my sponsors, it’s just been amazing.”

Williamson has had very limited track time ahead of this weekend, as he explains:
“My first time in the car was Thursday. I did 18 to 20 laps at Donington in the wet, and that was the first time I’d sat in the car and then it’s been today.”

“At the end of free practice two when we put slicks on finally, that was my only dry running before qualifying.”

Williamson’s eighth now replaces Team HARD’s best qualifying result of 12th, achieved by Team Principal Tony Gilham at Thruxton. Gilham himself is driving the team’s newly acquired Vauxhall Insignia this weekend, but will start from the back of the grid as he was unable to set a lap in the session.