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Charles Rainford scores maiden BTCC pole position at Knockhill

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Charles Rainford claimed a maiden pole position in the British Touring Car Championship as West Surrey Racing dominated qualifying at Knockhill.

Continuing his fine form from second practice at the Fife venue, Rainford was once again the driver to beat as he led a BMW 1-2-3, snaring top spot ahead of Daryl Deleon and reigning champion Jake Hill.

Deleon emerged as the pace-setter during Q1 and Q2 as he set the fastest times in each segment however Rainford came to the fore when it mattered most as he bettered Deleon by 0.013 of a second.

Hill made it a trio of rear-wheel-drive cars in the top three positions as he marked his return to competition – having missed Croft on medical grounds – with a sublime performance in his Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport machine.

With an envious record around Knockhill down the years, West Surrey Racing’s strong qualifying showing marks their best Saturday since Brands Hatch earlier in the season.

Finishing best of the rest and the first of the front-wheel-drive cars was the Alliance Racing Ford Focus ST of Dan Rowbottom while championship leader Tom Ingram was able to hustle his Hyundai i30 N to fifth place.

Completing the top six was the EXCELR8 Hyundai of Senna Proctor however the Yorkshireman was unable to set a representative time having been penalised for exceeding track limits on a number of occasions.

Just missing out on the Quick Six was Dan Cammish, Aiden Moffat, Aron Taylor-Smith and Chris Smiley. They will start from positions seven through to ten for the first of tomorrow’s three races at Knockhill.

Title contender Ash Sutton experienced one of the most dramatic moments of the session as he oh-so nearly rolled his Ford Focus ST at the chicane while trying to progress into Q3. The four-time champion ultimately had to settle for 11th place.

Further down the order, other drivers that were unable to make it out of the opening segment included three-time champion Gordon Shedden, Independent front-runner Daniel Lloyd and Power Maxed Racing’s Mikey Doble, who continues to get to grips with his new Cupra.