Charles Rainford magnificently scored his first British Touring Car Championship pole position as he led a magnificent WSR 1-2-3 in qualifying at Knockhill on Saturday.
The LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR driver narrowly edged out the similar BMW 330i M Sports of Daryl DeLeon and Jake Hill to head the first top-three lock-out for any team in 2025 by just over one hundredth of a second.
“I’m very pleased with the results today,” sair Team Principal Dick Bennetts. “The four drivers did a very good job and as a team we have all the BMWs handling well. It was a non-stop battle for pole position between Charles and Daryl with both taking their best-ever qualifying results, and for Jake to be third after the issues he’s faced since Croft is just as impressive.
“With Aiden having his best qualifying of the year and all four cars in the top 10, we can be very satisfied with our Saturday. Tomorrow’s when it really counts though and we’ll work hard overnight to make sure we’re in good shape to fight for wins tomorrow.”
Charles had served notice of intention to challenge for pole as he set the pace in the second free practice session aboard his BMW 330i M Sport. He then progressed through both Q1 and Q2 without setting the pace in either.
Instead, it was WSR driver and Jack Sears Trophy leader Daryl who went fastest in both sessions with 2024 BTCC champion Jake his closest challenger.
But in the crucial 10-minute ‘Quick Six’ shoot-out for pole position it was Charles who emerged on top with a 50.839s lap that narrowly secured the top spot by just 0.013s.
For Anglo-Filipino racer Daryl, second place marked his first front-row start in what is only his second full season of BTCC competition.
Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport driver JakeHill completed the top three with a remarkable charge, less than two weeks after being forced to withdraw from the Croft round ahead of qualifying due to illness.
Home hero Aiden Moffat, who is set to start his 350th BTCC race on Sunday, made it into Q2 for the first time in 2025 for LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR.
The Dalkeith racer had his best lap in the session removed for exceeding track limits, but will start a season’s-best ninth and narrowly missed out on a spot in the ‘Quick Six’ session by a little over a tenth of a second.
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