Aiden Moffat: We have a chance to do something special

Aiden Moffat insists he is keen to make the most of his surprise front row starting slot in Sunday’s opening BTCC race at Thruxton.

The Laser Tools Racing man emerged as one of the stars of a dramatic qualifying session as he placed his Mercedes Benz A-Class second on the grid; by far his best performance to date.

With no ballast on his car, the young Scot will now hope to race at the front when the action kicks off on Sunday morning although he admitted to being surprised at his qualifying pace.

“It was a pleasant surprise,” he told TouringCarTimes. “I was feeling quite confident going into qualifying as the car felt good in practice and we saw how quick the Mercedes was here last year with Adam [Morgan].

“I was hoping we could qualify in the top ten and after my first run, I knew I’d put in a good lap but felt we could make some changes. Then the team told me we were in P4 and that I should just go again.

“When others improved and we slipped back a bit, I thought we could get back to maybe sixth or seventh on new tyres so to end up in P2 was more than I expected. I thought others would improve again but when they didn’t, it was fantastic to secure a place on the front row.

“We know the car should be good in the races and it’s important that we push when we have the chance. We have a great opportunity to do something special and we need to try and take it.”