BTCC: DeLeon takes final pole position of the season at Brands Hatch

The first part of qualifying saw early on the BMW's take their usual early advantage as the front wheel drive cars cycle their tyres. The rest of the group would begin to set quicker times but it would be Charles Rainford who went fastest ahead of Jack Sears Trophy rival and teammate DeLeon while Tom Ingram and Dan Cammish took third and fourth in the session. Àròn Taylor-Smith and Aiden Moffat also advanced to the second part of qualifying leaving Senna Proctor, Dan Lloyd, Mikey Doble, Nick Halstead and Nic Hamilton to all be eliminated.

The second group saw a similar story early on with Jake Hill being the only BMW in the session, he would start off quickest before the Hyundai's began to challenge him. However, Hill managed to go quickest from Tom Chilton and Adam Morgan. Ash Sutton took fourth ahead of Dan Rowbottom ans Gordon Shedden as they all advance. Chris Smiley would just miss out in seventh while Dexter Patterson, Sam Osborne, Max Buxton and Josh Cook complete group two's running order.

Some big eliminations would occur in the second phase of qualifying as drivers times would get tighter and tighter but DeLeon went fastest in the session from Chilton and Morgan while Rowbottom, Cammish and Hill all advance. The battle for third in the championship heats up further with how tight it is between them. Championship leader Ingram would be eliminated after qualifying seventh on the grid while Sutton only managed to claim eleventh on the grid. Rainford and Shedden took eighth and ninth while Taylor-Smith completed the top ten. Moffat would qualify twelfth behind Sutton.

With both championship contenders out of qualifying it left a big opportunity for the remaining six drivers to take pole and they certainly rose to the challenge, with only hundredths seperating the contenders it looked almightly close. DeLeon looked to be out early with a technical issue, causing him to be stuck in the pits at the start of the session. However, the team managed to get it going a few minutes later crucially giving DeLeon enough time to get set up. Meanwhile, out on circuit Hill was already putting in competitive times while the front wheel drive cars had done their crossover period so all drivers were out on track fighting for pole. With almost every single lap, the times got quicker and changed and with hundredths separating the drivers, it was anyones for the taking. In the final moments of the session, DeLeon took pole position from Cammish and no one else could respond leaving the BMW to take a second pole in a row. Cammish would finish second ahead of Rowbottom and Chilton while Morgan and Hill complete the top six in the grid for race one tomorrow.