Snetterton: Team Aon qualifying report

TEAM AON SNATCHES THIRD IN WET QUALIFYING

Following two practice sessions focused on race set-up preparation, Team Aon went into this afternoon's qualifying session for the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at the Snetterton Circuit in Norwich aiming for a solid result.

Heavy rain, falling for the exact duration of the 30-minute qualifier, prevented the team from scoring its fifth pole position of the season however, and it was 25-year-old Tom Chilton that faired best, with the third fastest lap of the day. Chilton completed his quickest time in 1:19.675, while ranking in the top three for most of the session at the wheel of his Ford Focus.

Tom Onslow-Cole placed as high as third fastest in the earlier part of qualifying, before a damaged front bumper saw his car fail the mandatory ride height check. His times were deleted as a result, leaving the 23-year-old with five minutes to get his car repaired and set a new lap time. This wasn't to be unfortunately, and Onslow-Cole will start tomorrow's first race in 21st place.

Tom Chilton (#23), 1:19.675 -- P3
"No lap was the same throughout the entire session. It was very tricky to handle but I pushed as hard as I could throughout. I locked up a few times on the back straight and kept trying to find ways to push the boundaries but it is always so close in qualifying. I'm happy with third though; there was only a very short period between the track being greasy and extremely wet. That's when most of us set our best lap. After that, the best chance anyone had was to use the trail marks left by other cars. As soon as you leave those though, you just go off. It's meant to be dry tomorrow so we'll be pushing for wins then."

Tom Onslow-Cole (#21), no time -- P21
"The front right corner of my car was damaged on my very first run, which meant that I failed the ride height when I was called in on my way back to the pits. The team fixed it as quickly as they could but there was very little time left of the session when I went back on track and I wasn't able to set a time. I'm glad Tom [Chilton] is starting from the front at least, and I'll have to use every trick I know to get back there as quickly as possible during tomorrow's races."

-source: team aon