Silverline Chevrolet qualifying report

Sat 3rd April 2010 Qualifying for the Silverline Chevrolet team proved challenging this afternoon, ahead of Easter Sunday’s opening round of the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Thruxton.

With stop/start rainfall interfering throughout the afternoon, it meant any decision on which tyres to run would be a gamble. The team opted to run Jason with wet rears and slick fronts, however it didn’t pay off as heavy rain swept the Hampshire track. After pitting for a full wet tyre set, Jason returned to the track but as the rain continued, the track pace slowed, making it impossible to improve on the earlier lap times. In spite of this, Jason put in a solid lap to finish the session P5.

Summarising his first qualifying session with the Chevrolet Cruze, Jason says: “It was an educated gamble to go out straight away with a slick front and wet rear set up, in the hope the track would dry. If you can get enough heat in the slick tyre, running on a damp track, that’s where the pace is. Just as I was out, we had heavy rain, so despite pounding around, I couldn’t get the heat into the tyres. Unfortunately that was the time to get the best lap on the wets, we just missed the window. “

And on his thoughts for tomorrow’s first race, Jason adds, “P5 isn’t the ideal starting position, but it’s also not a disaster. We worked on our race pace in free practice 2, so I think we’ll be strong.”

In the sister Cruze, teammate Alex MacDowall was left with mixed emotions having set a best time worthy of 6th place on the grid, before his time was disallowed.

Alex explained, “We wanted to get on the track early and get some quick laps posted, because it wasn’t too wet, although the rain was coming in. We timed it well and I managed to set the third quickest time. Some quicker times from the other competitors pushed me down to around P7, and my tyres started to go off so I came in for a fresh set.

I was still on cold tyres but returned to the pits a lap later and was then called into the technical area where they checked the ride height of the car. It failed the check, which meant my best time was disallowed. Once I was back out it was much wetter, so I struggled to match my earlier pace.”

Alex will start the first of tomorrow’s three races from 15th on the grid, but is hopeful of a strong debut race, both in the BTCC and the Silverline Chevrolet. He adds, “From P15 I’ll be on a charge. My aim is to get a good start, avoid any trouble on the first lap and then try and work my way through the field.

In my quicker stints I hit a little traffic, so I think there is more time in the car. The pace is there and the car felt good so hopefully we can get a good result tomorrow.”