Doble claims maiden BTCC pole to end NAPA Racing clean-sweep

Having set the fifth quickest time during Q1, the BTCC rookie became the first driver to break the NAPA Racing UK qualifying stranglehold after producing a sensational lap in the Q2 top-ten shootout.

Doble initially catapulted himself to the top of the timesheets after setting a 57.635s early on in the ten-minute Q2 shootout. However, the Vauxhall Astra driver went even faster to set a 57.599s lap later in the session.

That lap proved pivotal as four-time champion Turkington came within a whisker of spoiling Doble's party after the Team BMW driver set a 57.611s, good enough to secure second on the grid.

Defending champion Tom Ingram will start Sunday's opening race from third on the grid after he too came within touching distance of claiming pole position. Ingram's best lap was just 0.030s off Doble pole lap, while Laser Tool Racing BMW's Jake Hill was just a further 0.015s back in fourth.

Despite only just squeezing into the Q2 shootout, runaway championship leader Ash Sutton secured his place on the third row of the grid with the fifth fastest time, alongside EXCELR8 Hyundai's Tom Chilton in sixth.

Still only 0.187s away from the top of the timesheets, Dan Cammish was seventh fastest and shares the fourth row of the grid with Power Maxed Racing's Aron Taylor-Smith in eighth.

Toyota Gazoo Racing's Rory Butcher and NAPA Racing's Sam Osborne completed the remainder of the top-ten order in ninth and tenth.