Sam Tordoff “not expecting any help” in victory fight

Sam Tordoff admits that it will be tough to try and fight for victory in the opening BTCC race of the weekend at Oulton Parkd despite qualifying on the front row of the grid.

The Cobra Sport AmD driver topped the times in the opening practice session of the weekend with a lap that would be unbeaten during the second session, and then emerged as the closest challenger to Colin Turkington in qualifying.

Despite improving on the time he had set earlier in the day, Tordoff fell just 0.027s shy of the time set by the championship leader although that means he will still start on the front row of the grid for the second time this season.

However, the former series runner-up admitted that it would be tough to take the fight to Turkington on race day and that the start of race one would be crucial to his chances.

“I’m pleased with that,” he said. “That lap was quick and I left it all out there. To be honest, we didn’t time it perfectly with the conditions as the track got slower as it went and I was compromised on my first run, but I’m still happy.

“It was good to carry the practice pace through to qualifying and it’s important for tomorrow because it’s hard to pass round here. People always point to Knockhill as the track where qualifying is vital, but it’s just the same here because of how tricky it is to overtake.

“The start will be the key as everyone says Colin has weight on the car but it doesn’t seem to be holding him back and I’m not expecting it to help me. I’m going to have to win the race myself if I want to be on the top step.”