Thruxton qual 1: Watts claims pole

Watts led his Hitech team-mate Eric Salignon in a one-two qualifying effort for the team, with Fortec star Robert Dahlgren claiming third to underline the dominance of the French engine manufacturer. Renault has looked strong at the fast circuits this year, having dominated qualifying in similar fashion at Castle Combe.

Former Carlin driver Richard Antinucci qualified fourth on his debut for Promatecme, ahead of his former team-mate Alan van der Merwe. The championship leader felt that he could have gone faster, and was one of several drivers to complain about traffic on his qualifying runs.

Nelson Piquet Jr was sixth fastest, ahead of Jamie Green and the second Promatecme of Fairuz Fauzy. Michael Keohane, Antinucci's replacement at Carlin, qualified 11th, and was responsible for ending the session early when he spun at the chicane and beached his car.

Ernesto Viso claimed pole in the Scholarship class, ahead of the T-Sport duo of Steven Kane and Karun Chandhok.

Danny Watts Hitech 1m07.589s
Eric Salignon Hitech 1m07.757s
Robert Dahlgren Fortec 1m07.762s
Richard Antinucci Promatecme 1m07.810s
Alan van der Merwe Carlin 1m07.828s
Nelson Piquet Jr Piquet Sports 1m07.927s
Jamie Green Carlin 1m07.949s
Fairuz Fauzy Promatecme 1m07.987s
Adam Carroll Menu 1m08.012s
Ronnie Bremer Carlin 1m08.021s

Ernesto Viso P1 Motorsport 1m08.426s
Steven Kane T-sport 1m08.574s
Karun Chandhok T-Sport 1m08.794s