Yvan Muller put on a dominant display in his Vauxhall Astra Coupé this afternoon to claim a thrilling double pole position for tomorrow’s Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Sprint and Feature Races on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit.

Having been quickest in both free practice sessions yesterday, Muller was favourite to head the time sheets from the off and on lap four he set a blistering 1:33.105, claiming pole position for the Sprint Race with a time which would not be beaten. He repeated his performance in the second half of qualifying, going quickest early in the twenty minute segment – and then reducing his own pole time on consecutive laps to secure his advantage for the Feature Race.

A delighted Muller said:

“It was a very exciting qualifying session! I enjoy this circuit a lot when you have a good car, like I have today. This is a nice way to start the year, we know we are on the pace and can achieve pole position – now we have to do the same in the race.”

Matt Neal in the Egg Sport Astra looked the man most likely to challenge Muller during the session. Up to second quickest early in both segments, Neal worked hard to reduce the gap to pole for the Sprint Race, but couldn’t quite get on terms with Muller, ending up 3/10ths of a second adrift. An even bigger effort by Neal in the second segment saw him shadow Muller’s every move, but he couldn’t reduce the advantage and will line up next to Muller for the Feature Race. If Neal exhibits the same pace in tomorrow’s two races, he will surely provide a big challenge to the pole-sitter.

Anthony Reid stuck his MG Sport & Racing MG ZS on the inside of the second row for the Sprint Race, having been down as low as eighth position until the final few laps. Reid has only had limited mileage in his new car, so was particularly pleased with the pace achieved today. Power steering failure in the latter part of qualifying relegated him to 8th position for the Feature Race.

Team Halfords enjoyed an impressive debut this afternoon, with Dan Eaves and Tim Harvey qualifying fourth and sixth quickest for the Sprint Race and third and sixth quickest for the Feature Race. The team Peugeot 406 Coupés have undergone considerable development work over the winter and in the hands of Eaves and Harvey could pose a serious threat this weekend.

Local youngster Tom Chilton (Reigate) continued his sensational testing form for Barwell Motorsport by splitting the Peugeots with the fifth quickest time for the Sprint Race and posting the seventh quickest time for the Feature Race.

Andy Priaulx and Alan Morrison took it in turns to lead the Honda Racing challenge in their Civic Type-Rs, with Priaulx claiming seventh and 12th and Morrison 10th and 11th respectively.

Warren Hughes, for MG Sport & Racing, qualified eighth for the Sprint Race, finding nearly half a second towards the end of the session to claim fifth for the Feature Race.

Less than 1/10th of a second behind Hughes in the first segment, Egg Sport’s Paul O’Neill put in a truly sensational effort to claim fourth position for the Feature Race. A Production graduate from last season, O’Neill is already proving his place amongst the established Touring field.

The Team Petronas Syntium Proton outfit, also new to the Touring grid this season, had a fairly eventful session, with David Leslie suffering from an ongoing brake problem in his Proton Impian and Phil Bennett only managing two flying laps for the Feature Race qualifying segment. As the team gain more vital mileage, expect to see these two hard-chargers up the front end.

One driver certainly expected to be up the front end this season, Vauxhall Motorsport’s James Thompson, failed to complete a lap in either segment and will consequently start both races from the back of the Touring car grid.

In the Production category, Lotus Elise Champion, Mark Fullalove claimed pole position for both the Sprint Race and the Feature Race, leading the title chasing pack for the majority of the qualifying session. After setting the fastest times during all the official BTCC test sessions to date, Fullalove is definitely one to watch for some spectacular racing tomorrow in his Tech-speed prepared Peugeot 306.

Said Fullalove:

“I am really pleased! It was much closer than it’s been in testing, so I had to dig quite deep, but I’m really looking forward to the two races tomorrow.”

Gary Ayles Motorsport’s Graham Saunders clocked the second fastest time in the first segment claiming second position on the grid in the Sprint Race. Saunders’ team-mate, Alan Blencowe, was just 2/10ths of a second behind him in his Alfa 156, qualifying in third place.

The pairing will line up in seventh and eighth places for the Feature Race as Beacon Motorsport’s graduates Spencer Marsh and Mark Thomas had the edge in the second segment, claiming second and third place respectively.

The 2001 BTC Production Drivers’ Runner-up, James Kaye, claimed eighth place on the Production grid in the Sprint Race but engine dramas in the second segment forced the Harrogate based driver further back down the line-up by another three places for the Feature Race.

The Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Sprint Race is scheduled to start at 13:00 tomorrow, Bank Holiday Monday 1st April. The main Feature Race is scheduled to start at 16:30.