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BTCC 2012 Index

Neal claims pole and bonus point at Silverstone

BTCC News | Sat 15th October 2011

Matt Neal stole an early advantage in the championship race after claiming pole position at Silverstone.

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By Matt Lamprell

The Honda Racing driver’s best lap of 59.131 was enough to put him at the front ahead of Mat Jackson and teammate Gordon Shedden.

Four of the five drivers still in with a mathematical chance of taking the title will fill the first four grid positions for Sunday’s first race.

However, Jason Plato faces a tough task if he is to claim his third BTCC, starting seventh on the grid.

Honda Racing’s Gordon Shedden went to the top of the times early in the session, with a time of 59.431. He was toppled from the top by Airwaves Racing’s Mat Jackson before going quicker again, with a time of 59.265.

With 10 minutes of the session remaining, Shedden held provisional pole position, ahead of James Nash and Mat Jackson.

There was still time for further changes at the top. Jackson was the first to go quickest, but he wasn’t there for long as Matt Neal put in his best time shortly afterwards. Jackson had one more run on new tyres, but he had to settle for second – meaning that Airwaves Racing will have to continue to wait for its first BTCC pole position.

Matt Neal said, “I’m just relieved. There’s a long way to go yet this weekend, but that’s the first step. It’s been such a team effort all year, so we just need to try and bring it all together tomorrow.”

Neal and Jackson will fill the front row, ahead of Shedden and James Nash. Alex MacDowall starts fifth, with Tom Chilton sixth and Jason Plato seventh. Andy Neate and Tom Onslow-Cole will start eighth and ninth, while Frank Wrathall is the first NGTC runner in tenth.

Throughout the 30-minute qualifying session, no fewer than 14 drivers were shown the black and white flag for exceeding the track limits. While no drivers were further penalised, this could cause further issues during Sunday’s races.

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