Maiden BTCC pole for Onslow-Cole
| By Jamie O'Leary |
Saturday, May 3rd 2008, 15:57 GMT |
 Tom Onslow-Cole claimed his first British Touring Car pole position with a superb display in qualifying at Donington Park.
The 20-year-old Vauxhall driver, who had dominated both practice sessions, continued to show quick pace as he lapped the circuit in 1:12.140 midway through the session and hold on for the remaining 15 minutes.
So great was his advantage that he was able to sit in the pits for the final few minutes while his rivals took to the track to try and knock him off the top spot.
SEAT's Jason Plato joined Onslow-Cole on the front row with a lap just 0.079 seconds slower, while Colin Turkington headed the second row in his Team RAC BMW, despite a spin at the Old Hairpin.
Darren Turner completed row two in the second SEAT, but stopped on the circuit on his final lap. Former double champion Matt Neal was sixth for Vauxhall, splitting the Team Halfords Hondas of Gordon Shedden and Tom Chilton.
Champion Fabrizio Giovanardi lost sixth place on the grid when all his times for the first 20 minutes were disallowed after he failed a ride height test. He recovered to eighth in his Vauxhall.
Matt Allison and Harry Vaulkhard completed the top 10 in his Robertshaw Chevrolet, giving the rookie team their best qualifying session of the season, the team benefiting from a 20 kilo weight reduction for this round.
There was disappointment for some of the other BMW runners though as the ballast-stricken Mat Jackson was only 14th fastest and Stephen Jelley 11th after he failed to stop at the weighbridge early in the session.
Michael Doyle spun his In-Tune Racing Honda at the Old Hairpin and was hit by John George's TH Motorsport example in the process, ending both drivers' session with damage.
Alan Taylor spun his Robertshaw Honda at the Old Hairpin, ending up in the barriers with light damage, while Rob Collard failed to set a time as his Motorbase BMW was afflicted by gearbox problems. Pos Driver Car Time Gap
1. Tom Onslow-Cole Vauxhall 1:12.140
2. Jason Plato SEAT 1:12.219 +0.079
3. Colin Turkington BMW 1:12.323 +0.183
4. Darren Turner SEAT 1:12.599 +0.459
5. Gordon Shedden Honda 1:12.601 +0.461
6. Matt Neal Vauxhall 1:12.736 +0.596
7. Tom Chilton Honda 1:12.771 +0.631
8. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall 1:12.797 +0.657
9. Matt Allison Chevrolet 1:12.845 +0.705
10. Harry Vaulkhard Chevrolet 1:13.089 +0.949
11. Stephen Jelley BMW 1:13.168 +1.028
12. Andrew Jordan Honda 1:13.232 +1.092
13. Adam Jones SEAT 1:13.357 +1.217
14. Mat Jackson BMW 1:13.481 +1.341
15. Mike Jordan Honda 1:13.519 +1.379
16. Steven Kane BMW 1:13.627 +1.487
17. Jason Hughes Honda 1:13.796 +1.656
18. Alan Taylor Honda 1:14.585 +2.445
19. Chris Stockton SEAT 1:14.610 +2.470
20. Erkut Kizilirmak Vauxhall 1:14.680 +2.540
21. Martyn Bell Vauxhall 1:14.699 +2.559
22. Stuart Oliver SEAT 1:15.155 +3.015
23. Michael Doyle Honda 1:15.270 +3.130
24. John George Honda 1:15.799 +3.659
25. Rob Collard BMW 1:20.920 +8.780
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