Maiden BTCC Pole for Howell

The Team Dynamics Honda Integra-R driver made sure of first on the grid with a 1:00.270 lap in the closing stages of qualifying, although his previous best time, set in the middle of the 30-minute session, would have been enough.

"I can't remember the last time I had a pole - it's unbelievable," said Howell, who was aided by carrying no success ballast. "To do a better time again at the end was amazing - I could afford to push a lot harder towards the end and the time was there."

Tom Chilton made it two Hondas on the front of the grid in his Arena Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R, although the second-best Dynamics Integra of Dan Eaves was only four-thousandths of a second slower in third.

James Pickford was the best-placed of the SEATS, taking fourth on the grid after showing strong pace throughout practice, although teammates Jason Plato and Luke Hines could manage only seventh and 10th.

Yvan Muller could manage only eighth in his Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch, a serious blow to his title hopes with points leader Matt Neal's Integra, which will start sixth after hitting traffic in the closing stages of qualifying, needing only to score consistently to be sure of the title.

Muller's teammate, Colin Turkington, was the best of the Vauxhall's in fifth place, although he was carrying only 9kg ballast compared to his team leader's 36kg.

Qualifying sets the grid for the first of tomorrow's three races, with the finishing order then setting the grid for race two. The final race of the day will start with the top ten finishers from race lining up in reverse order at the head of the grid.

Pos  Driver            Car                   Time              Laps
 1.  Gareth Howell     Honda Integra         1:00.270           21
 2.  Tom Chilton       Honda Civic Type-R    1:00.538 + 0.268   22
 3.  Dan Eaves         Honda Integra         1:00.542 + 0.272   23
 4.  James Pickford    SEAT Toledo Cupra     1:00.554 + 0.284   23
 5.  Colin Turkington  Vauxhall Astra        1:00.565 + 0.295   21
 6.  Matt Neal         Honda Integra         1:00.582 + 0.312   22
 7.  Jason Plato       SEAT Toledo Cupra     1:00.677 + 0.407   11
 8.  Yvan Muller       Vauxhall Astra        1:00.710 + 0.440   20
 9.  Rob Collard       MG ZS                 1:00.741 + 0.471   20
10.  Luke Hines        SEAT Toledo Cupra     1:00.876 + 0.606   17
11.  Gavin Smith       Vauxhall Astra Sport  1:01.022 + 0.752   22
12.  James Kaye        Honda Civic Type-R    1:01.105 + 0.835   16
13.  Fiona Leggate     Vauxhall Astra Coupe  1:02.054 + 1.784   21
14.  Mark Proctor      Vauxhall Astra Coupe  1:02.230 + 1.960   17
15.  Ian Curley        Lexus IS200           1:03.111 + 2.841   26
16.  Richard Williams  Lexus IS200           1:03.287 + 3.017   20