Chilton pips Shedden to Croft pole

Date published : 19 Jun 2010 - 17:39:18

Tom Chilton claimed pole position for the first of Sunday's three British Touring Car Championship rounds at Croft following an eventful qualifying session.

The Ford driver recovered after visiting a gravel trap earlier in the session to snatch the fastest time away from Gordon Shedden with time ticking down.

Chilton lapped in one minute 24.629 seconds to claim his third pole of the season and relegate Shedden to second by a margin of 0.077secs with Robert Collard in third place.

Championship leader Matt Neal had been fastest in the second practice session earlier, but had to be content with fifth on Sunday's grid, 0.605secs off the pace.

Jason Plato, Neal's closest rival in the overall standings, will start next to the Honda driver after lapping sixth quickest.

Chilton admitted he had been lucky to claim pole after his initial spill, saying: "I thought the car was stuck in the gravel trap and my session was over but somehow I managed to get it back on to the track.

"Then on my second run, when I set the time, I hit a kerb really hard and thought I'd punctured a tyre but it all held together.

"Other than that it was the perfect lap but I was very lucky."