Aron Smith delighted to “throw down the gauntlet” with P2

Team BMR’s Aron Smith qualified in second on the grid for the first round of the 2015 British Touring Car Championship in the Volkswagen CC, behind the West Surrey Racing BMW of three-time world champion Andy Priaulx, but chiefly ahead of team-mates Jason Plato and Colin Turkington.

The 25-year-old was just 69-thousandths of a second behind Andy Priaulx’s BMW 125i, and so will line-up on the grid on the front row tomorrow alongside the Guernseyman, with new team-mates Jason Plato and Colin Turkington behind him on row two.

“It’s a big gauntlet to throw down,” said Smith to TouringCarTimes. “You’d be lying if you said you weren’t nervous going into the championship with the guys who were one and two in the championship from the year before (as your team-mates), so it’s nice to come away with the first mark so to speak, I’m really, really happy.”

The Volkswagen CCs were on the pace all day, with Colin Turkington topping the time sheets in second free practice and with Jason Plato having led the official test at Donington Park two weeks’ ago, with Smith commenting on the improvements that the team have been able to make during the off season.

“The cars are just unbelievable, they’re a different league from what they were last year, and with second, third and fourth on the grid, I think it’s a bloody good effort, so now we’ll get our heads down and get on with the job tomorrow.”