After a blistering qualifying session at Thruxton this afternoon Jason Plato will start Round 4 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship tomorrow from the front row of the grid. Finding the changes necessary to provide the best set-up for his SEAT Toledo Cupra, a perfectly timed flying lap saw Jason clinch a well deserved 2nd place only half a second off pole-sitter Tom Chilton. After a few niggling problems with set-up throughout the day, James Pickford was happy with the pace he was able to find on new tyres and will start the first race tomorrow in 9th ahead of Luke Hines in 10th.

Plato said: “I got a really good lap and it’s all down to Eddie Hinckley my Race Engineer really. We made some subtle changes to the car before qualifying and a couple of changes during the session and all them worked in the right direction. I think that’s about it in terms of getting any more out of the car, but I’m really pleased because we’re half a second off a BTCC car with a driver that’s rusty so I not sure what the others are up to really. As a team we’ve performed really well and it’s nice to be up competing again. Rock on tomorrow! ”

James said: “We’ve had a few problems with set-up today but the balance of the car during qualifying was much better than during free practice. I seem to be losing a lot of time on the brakes and I don’t know why; I do have a different compound of padding than Jason and Luke so that might have something to do with it, I’m not sure. That’s definitely the area we’ve got to work on as the balance of the car is coming together well. That’s also the first time I’ve ever driven the car where I’ve picked up a noticeable amount of pace on new tyres so that’s a good sign and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Luke said: “I just seem to be struggling to get to grips with the circuit at the moment. We’ve had a few set-up problems throughout the day and I don’t seem to be able to find the time where I should be. I don’t know this circuit as well as I know the others but I’m quite confident that with a bit of work we’ll be in good shape for the races tomorrow."