Stephen Jelley excluded from Brands Hatch qualifying

Stephen Jelley will start the opening race of the BTCC season from the back of the grid after being excluded from qualifying at Brands Hatch.

The Team Parker driver had qualified inside the top ten in his BMW 125i M Sport but lost all of his times from the session when his car then failed the ride height test.

Jelley’s demotion to the back of the grid wasn’t the only change to the times, with Andrew Jordan being promoted up to fourth spot in his Pirtek Racing-backed BMW 330i M Sport.

Jordan had originally qualified ninth and would have gained a place through Jelley’s penalty before it emerged that his fastest time – set seconds before one of the three red flags in the session – had been incorrectly removed.

The reinstatement of that time means he will now line up fourth on the grid for race one.