BTCC Brands Hatch Indy: Rowbottom secures maiden pole, Team Dynamics 1-2

Dan Rowbottom secured pole position during a thrilling Brands Hatch Indy qualifying session ahead of the seventh round of the BTCC.

Conditions were dry and cloudy at Brands Hatch as the Indy configuration delivered on a close field of 29 cars, 28 of whom were covered by a second.

Naturally, traffic was a topical matter with the fight to the quickest lap times on the calendar but was managed well throughout the 30-minute session.

The best times were set during the halfway point as drivers fought for the extra tenths and the heat on their tyres.

Qualifying lacked any major incidents with the only notable moment being Tom Ingram running wide and slightly off-road after Turn 1.

Dan Rowbottom continued his strong Free Practice momentum, as did teammate Gordon Shedden, to lock out the front row for Team Dynamics; just 0.005s separated the two drivers.

Jake Hill for MB Motorsport was in third following his pace asserted early on despite the 31 kg of weight ballast.

Tom Oliphant was the first of the BMW 330i M Sports with a 48.184s to be in fourth.

The Infiniti of Aiden Moffat secured fifth spot for tomorrow’s Race 1, edging Ingram. His reigning champion teammate Ash Sutton was in seventh, carrying the most ballast at 75kg.

Chris Smiley was in eighth place ahead of Josh Cook and Steven Jelley’s WSR BMW who rounded off the top-10.