Shedden takes first season pole

The Team Dynamics driver took his first pole of the season with a time of 1:26.243 in his Honda Civic, beating Team RAC's Colin Turkington by just 0.05 seconds.

Turkington, driving a BMW 320si, said he was disappointed to miss out on the top spot, but confident ahead of the races, having won at the North Yorkshire circuit while racing for Vauxhall in 2005.

"It's always nice to have pole, but I'm looking for a good getaway instead," he said. "We tested at Pembrey two weeks ago so we're coming here with a pretty good car. It's very good on its tyres around here."

Dynamics has also heavily tested since the last round at Thruxton, setting up an exciting battle for Sunday's races.

SEAT Sport UK driver Darren Turner set the third fastest time, just 0.089 seconds shy of the top time.

He came home ahead of reigning champion Matt Neal, who had a difficult session, suffering an electrical glitch and damaging the front right of his car when he collided with a tyre barrier that had been strewn onto the track.

Current championship leader Jason Plato qualified in eighth position, while his main challenger, Fabrizio Giovanardi, overcame a rear suspension failure to record the fifth fastest time just seconds before the chequered flag fell.

Pos  Driver             Make         Time
 1.  Gordon Shedden     Honda        1:26.243
 2.  Colin Turkington   BMW          1:26.293 + 0.05
 3.  Darren Turner      SEAT         1:26.332 + 0.089
 4.  Matt Neal          Honda        1:26.634 + 0.391
 5.  F.Giovanardi       Vauxhall     1:26.832 + 0.589
 6.  Tom Onslow-Cole    BMW          1:26.867 + 0.624
 7.  Mike Jordan        Honda        1:26.878 + 0.635
 8.  Jason Plato        SEAT         1:26.890 + 0.647
 9.  Mat Jackson        BMW          1:27.064 + 0.821
10.  Eoin Murray        Alfa Romeo   1:27.267 + 1.024
11.  Tom Chilton        Vauxhall     1:27.275 + 1.032
12.  Gareth Howell      SEAT         1:27.474 + 1.231
13.  Matt Allison       SEAT         1:27.547 + 1.304
14.  Jason Hughes       MG           1:27.760 + 1.517
15.  David Pinkney      Alfa Romeo   1:28.022 + 1.779
16.  Erkut Kizilirmak   Vauxhall     1:28.210 + 1.967
17.  Simon Blanckley    Honda        1:28.352 + 2.109
18.  Chris Stockton     Lexus        1:28.502 + 2.259
19.  John George        Honda        1:28.734 + 2.491
20.  Richard Marsh      Alfa Romeo   1:28.874 + 2.631
21.  Fiona Leggate      MG           1:29.639 + 3.396
22.  Martyn Bell        BMW          1:30.475 + 4.232
23.  Jim Pocklington    BMW          1:33.516 + 7.273