Irishman Gavin Smith has repeated his 2005 trick of out-qualifying both his VX Racing team-mates at Oulton Park this afternoon.

Smith, who is in only his second year of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, sparred with Ulsterman Colin Turkington in the day’s second free practice, exchanging fastest lap times for the whole 40 minutes.

After studying telemetry, the VX Racing team was optimistic about its chances in official qualifying, but the weather deteriorated and Smith struggled to repeat his earlier brilliance, finishing the session in 10th place.

“I was really pleased with my pace in the free practice,” said the Dubliner. “I could’ve repeated it in qualifying but the car was misfiring. Tenth isn’t too bad, though, and the grid is going to be so topsy-turvy after the mixed conditions that I’m confident I’ll make up quite a lot of ground.”

In the first six minutes of qualifying, disaster struck for Tom Chilton, from Reigate, when he slid off the greasy track at the first corner.

The session was red-flagged as Chilton was extracted from the Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch following the heavy collision – measured at a force of 10G by the car’s onboard telemetry system - but the 21-year-old was given the OK by the championship’s medical officer. The accident prevented Chilton from registering a fast lap, meaning he has to start tomorrow’s opening race (round seven) from the last row of the grid.

“I knew, looking at the weather, that it was only going to get wetter,” said Chilton. “I thought I had to get the fast lap in as early as possible. I pushed too hard and lost it. It’s the first mistake I’ve made in qualifying in four years so I’m pretty cross with myself.

“On the positive side, the car is definitely better. I think the race is going to be our best this year.”

During the red-flag period a persistent drizzle meant all teams swapped from dry to wet set-up. The difficult conditions caught out some of the championship’s most experienced drivers, including reigning champion Matt Neal, who only managed to qualify 12th, and Colin Turkington, who finished in eighth. VX Racing driver and multiple champion, Fabrizio Giovanardi, was also a casualty, qualifying in 14th.

“I was overtaking Mike Jordan at Druids,” said the Italian. “He was slower on the hairpin coming out of the chicane but I touched the grass with my right wheels and I locked the front. The bad luck was that the starter motor wire got pulled off and the car wouldn’t start – otherwise I could have continued.

“In the second free practice I was a little bit faster than Gavin Smith everywhere except Druids. Because I don’t know the circuit I was taking that corner in fourth gear, which I now know cost me four-tenths of a second. That was the difference between us, and Gavin was challenging for pole. That gives me confidence. I know the car is good.”

The consensus at VX Racing is that the car is capable of giving the SEATs of Jason Plato and James Thompson, who qualified in first and second respectively, a run for their money.

“We’re very pleased by the way the car is transformed,” said VX Racing Operations Manager, Mike Nicholson. “We saw flashes of it this morning but I think in fairness we’d have seen a lot more of what the car can do if the qualifying was dry. It’s going to be an exciting race.”

Team Manager, Ian Harrison, added: “Gavin Smith did a really good job but the other two drivers had an unfortunate session. It’s my job to manage the situation now and I will be doing that with vigour.”