Colin Turkington surprised by front-row slot

Colin Turkington admitted he was surprised to secure a place on the front of the grid in the penultimate qualifying session of the BTCC season at Silverstone.

Turkington would end up just 0.012s away from a first pole of the year after an action-packed qualifying session that saw the top five drivers covered by less than a tenth of a second – with the top ten in Q1 having been covered by just over a tenth.

Second on the grid matched the best starting position of the year for the West Surrey Racing-run squad, although Turkington admitted it was more than he had expected from the session.

“I didn’t think we’d be on the front row, but we bolted new tyres on and found the balance in the car,” he said. “It’s so close that we could have been P1 or we could have been P6 as the margins are so tight, but I’m happy with where we are – and credit to Mikey Doble for grabbing his first pole.

“It’s been a while since I got my first while, but I know it’s a big moment for a driver, so congratulations to him, although I don’t plan to make it easy for him tomorrow. I’ll be looking to put him under pressure and fight for that podium but with the grid being so compact, it’s going to be frantic.”