Jason Plato and Darren Turner both held provisional pole position more than once for tomorrow’s opening round of the 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch, before a delay at the weighbridge and two red flags dropped the SEAT Sport UK drivers to 4th and 6th respectively. Yet with just a day and a half’s pre-season testing under its belt, it was a stunning BTCC debut for the Holiday Inn-supported Leon TDI.

A torrential rain storm one hour before qualifying made the 1.9 mile Brands Hatch Indy Circuit very wet, but a strong wind and 25 touring cars soon began to create a dry line as the storm clouds moved on. With wet Dunlop tyres all-round, Darren was the initial pace-setter, setting a 52.839 benchmark. Jason was the first driver brave enough to replace his front wet tyres with slicks, and knocked his team-mate into second place with a 52.704.

Despite the cold (air temperature 12°C / track temperature 9°C), the track was drying out quickly and as more drivers switched to slick tyres, so the lap times plummeted. Jason was the first driver to break the 50 second barrier, and after a succession of personal bests Darren had knocked more than three seconds off his initial best to retake pole.

It was clear that the track conditions were going to be at their best at the end of the session, and like at Silverstone in 2004 – when Jason gave SEAT Sport UK’s its first ever BTCC pole by timing his run on slicks to perfection on a drying track – he came into the pits for fresh smooth rubber. His journey to his waiting mechanics was delayed when he was randomly selected to stop at the weighbridge for officials to confirm the car’s weight and ride height. Engines have to be turned off at this point, and Jason had to wait until the turbo had reached a certain temperature before he could cut the TDI engine and be pushed onto the scales. After that, there was no time left for him to change tyres and complete a flying lap, so Jason had to drive straight back onto the circuit to try and beat his 49.511 best – which was once good enough for pole, but on an improving track was now 4th.

When Erkut Kizilirmak spun his Vauxhall Astra for a second time into the gravel at the bottom of Paddock Hill Bend and the second red flags of the session came out with just 1min 13secs remaining, qualifying came to an end with Jason on the second row of the grid. Both red flags ruined two of Darren’s fastest laps, as his 49.632 best will see him start Round 1 of the 2008 BTCC from the third row of the grid.

Jason Plato said: “We lost pole position today in the pit lane. The track was getting faster and faster, so we came into the pits for fresh tyres close to the end of the session. But we were called onto the weighbridge and the rules state that the engine has to be turned off before you’re pushed onto it. I had to sit there for two minutes waiting for the turbo to come down to the correct temperature before turning the engine off; then there wasn’t time to change the tyres and then the session came to an end with a red flag. For the best five laps of qualifying we were in the pits, and for sure that cost us pole. On a positive note, we are pleased with the new car’s performance and I think we should have a good race day tomorrow. We can at least hold position and finish the first race from were we start it and, who knows, we might even finish on the podium.”

Darren Turner: “For the first ten minutes in the wet we held pole, which I was really pleased with because I’ve never driven the Leon TDI in such slippery conditions. The car was working well, and we were a little unlucky with the red flags, as both times we were on a very quick lap when we had to abort. As a team we should be very pleased to have a new car for only a day and a half pre-season testing and be so competitive on its BTCC debut. To qualifying sixth after being on pole for such a long time is a little frustrating, but the most important thing is that the Leon TDI has good pace and a lot of potential.”