By Tarek Ramchani
A sunny Snetterton circuit played host to a thrilling British Touring Car Championship qualifying session this afternoon. Three Audi cars took part in the event with some ups and down.
Best ranked Audi driver was Hunter Abbot. Behind the wheel of the #54 Audi A4 from Rob Austin Racing he qualified in the first half of the table in a promising thirteenth place. He set a personal best time of 1:56.788, just 0.741 behind the fastest time overall in the session.
His team-mate Rob Austin had a harder qualifying session. Driving the #101 Audi A4, he was twenty-first overall with a personal best time of 1:57.973. The Rob Austin Racing team owner will be eager to bounce back on race day.
Nicolas Hamiton made some improvements with the #28 Audi S3 Sedan. The AmD Tuning driver qualified in a positive twenty-sixth place and set a personal best time of 1:59.623. This only Nicolas Hamiton's second appearance in the demanding BTCC.
Up ahead it was an all Volkswagen affair. Team BMR Volkswagen Passat CCs locked all three top places. Pole position went to the reining champion Coling Turkington ahead of his team-mates Aaron Smith in second and Jason Plato in third.
The three BTCC races are set for Sunday. We wish the best of luck to the two Audi teams and their drivers.
Photo credit: BTCC
