LIVE COVERAGE from Oulton Park Island for Qualifying ahead of Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2024 TCR UK Touring Car Championship.
Launched in 2014, the TCR concept was introduced to level-up touring car racing on a global scale. Featuring production saloons powered by 1.75 – 2-litre turbocharged engines, cars are built by manufacturer-approved constructors to comply with carefully controlled technical regulations and FIA homologation.
Such has been its success, TCR racing now takes place in more than 30 different countries. The concept was introduced in the UK in 2018 and in 2021 under new administration, firmly established itself as the competitive, high-profile national championship that it deserves to be. In doing so, it has attracted top teams, talented drivers and more spectators than other race series of a similar status.
Building on the achievements of the past season, 2024 will see the UK’s Touring Car Championship continue its upwards trajectory to provide even more benefits for teams and drivers, featuring a calendar of events at many of the UK’s leading circuits, greater levels of PR and public exposure, bigger grids and closer racing.
#tcruk #oultonpark #motorsport
[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] sh [Music] [Music] we are away and [Music] racing that is a really good maneuver oh [Music] good morning everybody Welcome along to ulton park for the latest round of the TCR UK championship for 2023 the third event of what is already turning in to a typically competitive season of racing and we arve now at a circuit that most drivers on the grid will have had highlighted from the moment the calendar was released our annual visit to the Northwest to the Bon Park Island Circuit and uh for a pair of races today a single day format so we’re about to just two races per day for TCR UK and Civic cup plus as usual a whole host of brscc support race action as well Andy McAn here in the commentary box Paul O’Neal will be well everywhere today in the pit Lane on the podiums and joining me in the commentary box uh during the races for TCR and Civic Cup on what is a damp circuit if had about 10 or 15 minutes ago would have said it was a sodn circuit here at Alton Park but it is getting drier it’s actually pretty warm still out there and hopefully we’re going to see the track conditions improve as we move through the day it’s a challenging circuit 2.66 mil in length but it’s all really about that elevation 79 ft of elevation change across the lap it’s a really winding undulating technically de demanding circuit that requires the absolute maximum from driver and machine in order to set a good lap time but even more so to we consistently quick over a race distance we’ve got qualifying action coming up very shortly the TCR UK cars are getting ready to head out onto the track and this could be a particularly exciting session maybe the most exciting qualifying session that we’ve had for some time because the track is wet but it is not likely to get any wetter the rain stopped about half an hour or so ago the blue sky is arriving as you can see in the distance this track is going to get dryer over the course of the qualifying session and as it gets drier it will get much much quicker so it’s going to be I think one of those sessions where the quickest lap times come right at the very end and you’ve got to be on the money and you got to be out on track at the right time on the right tire in order to set a really quick lap time so it’s going to be interesting to see uh what um happens over the course of the qualifying session and who gets it right because those who get it right could be rewarded with will be rewarded with a good grid position and we know how significant that can be here at Alton Park it’s not the easiest of RAC trcks at which to overtake and so if you can get yourself uh on the front row of the grid that gives you a really really good opportunity then to score some points when we go racing later on just to give you an idea of how the day will look live throughout the day here on the TCR UK YouTube channel by the way so you don’t need to change channels too much although we will have a couple of different streams we’ve got a qualifying stream that’s going to cover this uh 20 minute qualifying session for sorry 30 no 20 minutes right the first time qualifying session for TCR UK follow immediately afterwards by qualifying for the miltech sports Civic Cup Championship that’s a 15minute session and then we will be back again at around about quarter to 12 I believe later on this afternoon for all of our race action which will include as I said two races for the miltech sports imit cup and TCR UK we’ve also got two races at a piece for the Airtech Motorsport fiester s240 Championship the demon tweaks Audi TT Cup Championship and the BRC Fiesta junior Championship that will be out there as well so a busy day of racing taking you all the way through towards half 6 this afternoon uh where else would you rather be on a hopefully what’s going to become Sunny Saturday here at Alton Park so as the clouds do begin to clear the track has cleared after our first session which was a little bit of an additional practice session not for TCR cars but for some of the support race categories just to get to grips with the track and that proved to be a popular session because I think a lot of drivers saw the change of conditions from yesterday and decided they wanted to absolutely make the most of the extra bit of track time see there still little bit of standing water the area of the circuit that usually is the biggest challenge in these conditions is the final sector up over Clay Hill through the double Apex right-hander at Druids and then down into the final corner at lunch because that is completely covered by trees at this time of year so it takes much longer for that area of the racet track to get dry than it does the rest of it so that again adds to this challenge of qualifying because uh they have less time uh to uh set a lap time they did last year only 20 minute session not 30 minutes as it has been in previous years and also we’re going to see certain bits of the track drying out more quickly than others there you can see bit of work being done by the marshals up at where’s that the Brit oh Island That’s The Hairpin yeah the island hairpin uh where they are sweeping some water away that’s off the racing line although possibly only off the racing line because of the hard works hard work of that Marshall with his broom there we go he’s got another couple of Marshals coming over to help and uh a shout out as always to the marshals we always say this but on days like this you particularly come to appreciate the Marshall’s hard work because they have to stand out there in pretty abysmal conditions and um it can’t be pleasant always but they do get front row seats for the racing action and here at Alton Park I know that they’ve got a really dedicated Marshall team lots of local Marshals who will be here every single weekend they never miss an event and uh without them Alon Park wouldn’t have a thriving calendar as it does now and British Motor Racing wouldn’t be in the strong position that it is right now either so we thank them as always for their hard work they are likely to have some hard work to do as the day goes on because it is one of those tracks that punishes you for mistakes if you slip off the road there are gravel traps and grassy runoff areas but then ultimately barriers as well waiting to catch you and the Marshals are there as always to make sure that uh the drivers are safe and that the track is ready for racing few uh people have got front row seats with their camping uh pitches haven’t they up there on the uh approach to Lodge Corner bit of a Hidden Gem Lodge Corner really it’s one of the best overtaking opportunities if not the best overt overtaking opportunity on the track but not many people think to venture out that way there is a grand stand these days uh on the outside of Lodge corner and that grand stand uh allows a good view pretty much of what you can see from this camera the cars coming out of Druids underneath the Paul War bridge and uh heading through that undulating and bumpy breaking Zone uh into Lodge corner where you can if you’re feeling brave throw it up the inside or try and get the switch back up over the line that’s another good way uh to try and make some track position here right then green lights are flashing around the uh track and that means that we are almost good to go with qualifying for the latest round of TCR [Music] UK so cars leaving the track then to leaving the pit Lane entering the track ahead of a 20-minute qualifying session then for round number seven of the TCR UK Championship as I said earlier on unlike other uh rounds this year just a double header this weekend so just the two races so no uh second fastest lap times to worry about it’s all about the outright fastest lap times uh that sets the grid for race one for race two we have the top 10 finishes from race one reversed to give us the grid for that second race so this is all about setting one quick lap and the drivers now getting their first glimpse of the track conditions now it’s still very wet don’t get me wrong but I’m interested to see if anybody Braves the Slicks at the end of the session whether the track will get dry off the slick tires by the end of the session I doubt it I think it’s probably still going to be a little bit too wet because of course it’s not just a case of Bol slicks on and immediately going quickly you’ve got to get them up to temperature you’ve got to get yourself into the groove and that might take five or so minutes and I doubt they’re going to have enough time to do that so I think this is actually going to be a case of trying to keep the wet tires alive long enough that you can set a lap time a good lap time at the back end of the session when the track conditions are at their best but uh right now as you can see still very wet as they head under the trees towards Lodge Corner Carl boadle there nipping up the inside of of um Jeff Alden and uh trying to claim a little bit of clear track position as they head towards the start of their first flying lap now unlike in the dry conditions where we tend to see the drivers uh coming in and out of the pit Lane a lot to swap over tires fronts to Rears lefts to rights and so on I don’t think we’re really going to see that in the wet conditions the wet tires they just want to try and run as many laps as they can on them as quickly as they can to try and get themselves try and get their tires into to the right operating window and also trying to find yourself a bit of clear track which is proving a little bit of a challenge for a few Jeff alen leading a queue of them down uh through cascade’s corner and um trying his best to not get in people’s way but that’s easier said than done I suppose on such a narrow circuit as this one but anyway through Lodge Corner they head Jeff Holden does now get out of the way of Callum mum one of the drivers there that we also need to be uh watching out for today because we know that is hoping that he will have slightly better form maybe than he had at Setton where the compensation ways after a really strong opening round of the championship for Callum uh meant that he was off the pace they were complaining that they had very little uh top end speed as well at uh at Setton but here hopefully especially with the wet conditions we might see cuman returning to the top step of the podium where he finally found himself after a long time waiting at br’s hatch at the season not right then cars getting themselves up to speed I’ve been joined Now by Paul O’Neal in the commentary box and Paul uh your first view of the track conditions out at the back of the circuit as I was just explaining this is the area that often takes the longest to dry and it comes right at the end of the lap so you could be on a really good lap and then do exactly what Brad th’s done locks up into Lodge Corner straight into the gravel avoids the barriers thankfully but Brad proving my point for me yeah exactly that I tell you what I’ve come at the uh the right time there haven’t I um oh what a nightmare it’s just that you’ve got to break offline it’s too easy to say that when you’re up uh in the coms box but you’ve got to break offline for for Lodge corner it’s so wet out there isn’t it uh will beach in the 27 uh lead in that uh gen one cup and he’s uh right with Jeff Alden red flags on show um yeah that’s going to be a bit of a nightmare that is going to cause an issue now because the track is going to get drier uh it is exactly and I’ve just been sort of making making that point as well before you uh got up here uh that this is going to be one of those sessions isn’t it where the pole position time will be set probably after the checkered flag’s gone out it will be that final lap of the session that is going to be the fastest so if you’re working for one of the teams down there if you’re driving one of these cars Paul what do you want to do because you could go out there now and and pound around and chew up a set of wet tires But ultimately these lap times are unlikely to be the fast ones so is it worth waiting do you think and just going out for the second half of the session well maybe the difficulty is is there was a lot of new time down here at ulton Park this weekend so a lot of these drivers won’t I mean Lodge corner is one that’s got brand new tarmac so um turn one I don’t think has but then cascad which is turn two down the hill and left that’s new tarmac um and then you’ve got the nicob brook shicane that’s new tarmac H and also you’ve got new tarmac going into Lodge uh where Brad is just off in that 28 so the new tarmac is causing a bit of a uh an anomaly with the setup of the car I’ve been around here in the TCR car while it’s been uh uh resurfaced and also with other clients coaching and the the the new Tac causes a lot of uh head scratching with with set a cast but going back to your question I think um I I think they’re going to have to be carefully it’s no point in taking the edges off your wet tires while it’s going to get dryer the only problem is is it going to be drier and quicker or is it going to go into that greasy stage where it’s just a nightmare but whatever it is I think you’re going to have to have wet tires on yeah well with this red flag now I think there’s more chance it will go to the sort of greasy stage because it’s going to dry naturally the Trap because the sun is shining down on it but the the cars aren’t clearing the water off the racing line are they that’s what usually takes it right the way through to a a properly dry line but of course the longer we’re under a red flag the drier the Trap becomes and so the drier it will then be uh by the end of the session so it’s going to be it’s only adding to the Intrigue this really ahead of what was already likely to be a pretty uh intriguing uh qualifying session uh but yeah this will be a challenge for the drivers particularly for those who are trying to uh score good points for the championship and uh we will hopefully get cars back out on track again in the next few moments so red flag early doors here at Alon Park we’ll back with more qualifying action in a few moments [Applause] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] he’s all the way around the outside filed for the lead by side who’s going to be the bigger [Music] man is your business ready to switch over to Cloud telepan before the BT analog switch off if you’re not sure you can get a telecoms and it health check from Maximum networks for free covering Broadband phone systems it support and more arrange your free audit today at maximum network.co got so much weight on my [Music] shoulders and have to knock me out but I’m still holding the thr you never know then it’s over you want an honest man but she don’t understand I want to be here when you wake up again you want all this man but you don’t understand I won’t be here you wake up againest man next year BT switch off their old analog Network for good make sure your business is ready to switch over to Cloud telepan get a telecoms and it health check from Maximum networks today for free future proof your business now arrange your free audit today at maximum networks. co.uk [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] welcome back to Alton Park everybody where cars are in the pit Lane during a red flag in qualified for TCR UK Brad thst’s Honda deposited in the lodge Corner gravel trap many a great driver have ended up in a similar position uh but in wet conditions and caught him out on his uh the end of his first Flying L qualifying the clock has stopped so we’ve got just under the 16 minutes left of the qualifying session no real representative lap times have been set yet Adam sheeper what it’s worth on provisional pole position but that we know will change as we go forward Andy MC and Paul O’Neal here in the commentary box to talk through the session and something interesting that I just spotted there uh it’s not on screen now but Joe Marshall’s Audi unlike everybody else they’ve queued up in a nice orderly line at the end of the pit Lane Joe’s Audi is parted of 45° in front of his garage with the tires off and slick tires waiting now at the moment surely far too wet to go onto the Slicks but that is a team thinking ahead realizing that whilst we’re sat under red flag conditions the track conditions are evolving and it’s good to see that they’re at least considering taking that gamble two things Rob Boston racing Rob Boston is one of the top thinkers in this Championship he thinks ahead of the game other the other part the clock stopped there’s still 16 minutes left of this session there’s actually three or four things here the wind outside you see the flags in the background yeah they are blowing like a Gooden the sun’s out everything says to me it’s a slick Tire what they will probably do if I was them I would go out on those slicks probably about two or three minutes after everyone’s gone and just go pound round for 10 12 minutes get the heat in them and if that dry line appears they’re in the pound seats while everyone else’s tires are going to be shot and they’re all leaving the pits on wet which is at the minute the right thing to do it is but it’s all about anticipation isn’t it and that is where the big teams that have been doing this for years and years and years know what they’re doing now there is Joe Marshall’s car what tires are they putting on I would they’re still wet I think I would say they’re wet yeah so the slick tires were waiting I think just the other side of the car but they look still like wet but hey it was worth taking the tires off then you do decide to go to the Slicks you can get them on much more quickly they’ve now decided they we’re going to stick with the wets they’ll lose a minute or so uh waiting for else to go out but hey he’ll be in clean air at least whereas everyone else as we saw was jockeying for trap position beforehand weren’t they so uh good heads up thinking there from Rob Boston racing because Joe Marshall is one of those drivers most definitely who I would say is in Championship contention at the moment he had a really solid run uh at Setta last time out scored some decent points and Joe Marshall currently sits fourth in the championship standings but that is before any drop scores are uh allocated so he is right up there certainly once those drop scores are added Mark Smith that’s on screen it looks like he’s got front slicks on it actually looks like he has got front slicks on that car he’s got yellow side walls on it he’s certainly not pushing which would which would tell me that car has got slicks on the front I mean that is a that sometimes people will run wets on the rear slicks on the front can you do that in TCR UK though CU it always used to be the rule that you couldn’t I didn’t think you could if I’m honest um maybe Mark thinks that you can maybe but I mean he’s that that would say to me he’s not going massively quick is he um but I mean the the proof will be in the pudding because you’ll be locking up going straight I mean that the speed he’s going would tell me that he is on slicks of some sort you’re right I can see the yellow side wall on the front tires and he is definitely I mean look at compared to Brad Hutcherson in the background who is full commitment uh through druid’s Corner Mark Smith is tootling around let’s wait and see if he heads for the pit Lane my word as and just finds a gap up the inside but there you can see visibly the speed difference so either Mark’s got a problem and the yellow side walls on the back I think he’s on slick all round p wow I think he’s going to come into the pits cuz that is is he no wow I tell you what He’s a brave man this I think there’s just too much standing water but then I look at the clock and there’s still 13 minutes left look at the water oh that’s way too wet isn’t it Brad’s Brad Hutcherson in this 17 bondit car he is lit but all it takes is for us to get 5 minutes of sleep running at the end of the session and Mark Smith is in the pound SE because the others if they come in and change tires they will change on to cold slick tires have two cars just gone missing from in front of him have they just gone straight on at the herpin quite possible uh and they were all told if they do that in the driver’s briefing this morning that they have to then do a full loop around Island Bend and the shell Hair Bin they’re not allowed to just do a three-point turn and head back on so that will cost them a fair chunk of time uh especially if they do it in raise conditions right anyway whilst we Ponder what’s going on with Mark Smith we’ll we’ll put that to one side for now and focus on those that we know are on the right tire for the conditions right now and that is the wet and Brad Hutcherson definitely won of those drivers Hutcherson hasn’t set a lap time yet but he’s put in a personal best SE to Carl Bley meanwhile about to cross the line he’s gone purple in sector one and goes to the top of the times now at 134.0 there he goes look in towards old Hall corner and KL Bley who was so strong here at Alon Park a year ago still winless in 2024 goes to the top of the times Bel to that isn’t it I mean that’s a good time that usually you’re about 10 seconds off off a dry time I think that yesterday people were reporting 25s uh 252s in the in the dry yesterday so and yeah I think that if it was dry then maybe um we would beat the 259 that you’re showing me that is the uh the record for qualifying poll last year yeah Bruce Winfield the race and qualifying La record hold so 259 was a fast lap time in the dry now we know these new tires for 2024 generally have been quicker uh so we would probably expect them to get down into the low 25s in dry conditions right now we are in the low 34s uh but are we going to see further improvements well not from Bley at the moment he’s not improving in the first sector on this lap nor is Adam Shephard who has jumped up into second place on the grid Callum Nim third and Darren Lewis fourth quickest at the moment only 610 slower someone else has gone down the Escape Road I think up at the island Bend such a tricky breaking Zone that is isn’t it up at Island B it’s bumpy especially in the web we saw from Brad thirst easy to lock the front tires yeah it’s a it’s a real difficult place that like you have to break in the dry over the crest you have to get over the crest and then break but when it’s wet you’re obviously breaking earlier and uh Darren Lewis just coming over the line not like he had a bit of blue smoke at the back of that but it might have just been a bit of wet uh let’s hope so he crosses the line and doesn’t improve now into the pit Lane has come camam they’re taking tires off calum’s car and I think they’ve got slip tires waiting so I think Callum is going to be the first of the or the next driver Maybe to Blink and go onto the Slicks Mark Smith who we suspect is on slicks his best lap at the moment to 207. five 33 and a half seconds off the current Pole Position time but I would be fascinated to see what Callum Nim can do if they take that slick tie gamble yeah that sun is strong now as well in the pit Lane you they’re not they’re taking the time aren’t they with Jeff alden’s car there it’s I know that car’s got wet tires on it at the minute anything that’s got the blue sidewalls on it or blue goodye uh logo is is a wet tire and yellow is uh is the Good Year slick so yeah let’s see what happens on the timing screens there’s not massive amounts going on yian was Green in sector one um and then he bailed for the pits so uh so yeah shepherds coming now isn’t he no one’s improving though no one’s improving in sectors which tells me we’ve got to that transition point now where the wets are not going to go any quicker if you’re confident you’re not going to bin the car by sticking slicks on it surely with almost half the session to go it’s worth the punt no I would say so but I still think there’s there’s still so you only you’re only going to go quicker if you put new wets on the the new wets have got such an edge on them that they will turn you in but that looks like to me that’s a set that’s a set of wets going back on right they’re sticking used wets on so that is a used wet maybe that maybe it’s that greasy maybe it’s that greasy that it’s a real struggle for the new wets to have any bite so the greasy stage now that’s probably a good call that to to use a a a a scrubbed wet what we call a scrubed wet and it’s more like an intermediate Joe Marshall who is just behind our camera is also having a tire change I’m looking at that out the window I think they might be doing the same thing so I think you’re on to something there Paul I reckon that is what they’re doing now Carl Bley still fastest hasn’t improved his lap time but on the previous lap his second and third sectors were faster than anyone else has been all session it didn’t in the end yield an improved lap time but he has still got some decent pace out there here he comes into the hair he’s got Darren Lewis and Adam Shephard ahead of Adam Shepard the championship leader after snon decent little lead that he’s got before those Dro scores are applied over Callum nman second and Carl ble third ble only four points a drift of Callum neam at the moment in the championship standings but these are at the moment the two fastest cars on track two uh KOA Lon competitions and uh Carl Balley’s car number one catching these two but not improving at the moment on this lap nor is Adam Shepard and the same is true in the middle sector so they are now struggling for lap time yeah the other thing that is a problem as well is is that they’ll be coming in the pits to take pressure at the tires as it gets drier as the as the tires start to slip across the greasier surface the the tire tempts go up the pressures go up and the car will will lose front traction uh and rear traction as well so it it’s a he’s he’s having a cool down isn’t he look at that he’s looking for the he’s looking to cool down his tire now he’s going to go for it so he is struggling with a bit of temp so he’s going to now try and stick one together C bradle well let’s see what he can do then up and over dear leap he goes he can give us a guided tour perhaps around the Alton Park Island Circuit he’s backed off to get himself some clean air and barrels off towards old Hall corner Paul you’ve driven more laps around here than most talk us through a lap yeah done a bit around here so you don’t want to be rattling them curbs and Carl doesn’t do that that’s the exit old hole down the Avenue now down to Cascades this is down into fourth gear in the dry probably third in the wet look at that wide line on Entry looking for the circuit that hasn’t got the rubber in it this is the difficult part will he stay right now down to the island herping yes he does over the crest starts breaking then starts to come across to the left and he’ll miss the Apex like he does and try to get that car as straight as he can in first gear in the dry that is maybe second in the wet just to stop those Wheels spinning traction up and over Hilltop excellent part of the circuit in a TCR car it feels so so alien driving around here the cars are so big and circuits are narrow into the chicane at Nica Brook you just want to get these apexes as best you can even in the wet this is new tarmac so it should have a lot of grip oh that’s not what you want to do you’ll get wheel spin on those red and white curves on the exit up over uh Clay Hill this is horrendously scary up to fifth gear you sometimes you hit the limiter on the brakes that car doesn’t look like it’s that soft uh on the uh on the dive when it breaks but look at that Rand Druid absolutely flat out some commitment that but still on the timing screens it’s not fast enough he’s looking he’s all over the track looking for the puddles down into Lodge this is third gear let the car roll in let the front axle do the talking and it isn’t doing the talking for Carl bodley at the minute well let’s see what the lap time is there remember 340 is his current Benchmark that lap of 344 so about 410 off the pace however Callum n’s just pumped in a personal best in the first sector and so has Joe Marshall the two cars that we’ve seen in the pit Lane for a tire change we believe they both gone for a scrubed set of wet tires and they are going quicker than they have been so far in the session Adam Shepard just did a personal best in the third sector on his previous lap but it wasn’t enough to improve his lap time but the next car across the timing line will be mum and he’s being followed I think pretty closely behind Maybe by Joe Marshall let’s see what n does across the line he goes doesn’t improve a 35 Z half a second off his previous best that’s not what I expected I really didn’t expect that that last sector must the tires must have just got so energized and hot that they just didn’t give him the bite he needed in uh in Druids and also at lodge the last corner but yeah I was looking for that was going to be a front row I thought Joe Marshall improves to four ahead of Darren Lewis Darren Lewis still in the top five we said in our social media uh sort of preview about an hour ago down in the pit lane pool that Daren was one to watch for this weekend he’s living up to that billing yeah he is he’s got a good car he’s a good driver he’s done a lot of racing a lot of drivers who got a lot of respect for him I think people sometimes get the wrong end that to stick with DAR thinks he’s a feisty driver and maybe gets his elbows out he does but for me he’s fast and he gets the job done so yeah oh on that a massive spin now we are not racing on the international circuit at alart today but two drivers haven’t got the memo and have just gone straight on at the island haon but yeah the amount of dirt that that is not a part of the race track we’re using this weekend but someone’s had a moment Brad Hutch and one of the drivers what if you spotted P right Nim is on a flyer he has done fastest ever sector he’s going to be a he’s going to be oh we got him fair play to the director there so Druids now this is where he was very very slow but he’s green and purple this really could be Pole can he get it look it breaks offline Callum Nim this car this weather this is perfect for him got his first career poll position at br’s hatch earlier on in the season can he back it up with another one here at Alton park over de leap he comes personal best first sector outright fastest second sector second fastest on the timing sheets 31 thousand of a second all that separates him from career Pole Position number three but he is on the front row provisionally the top three pole covered by three4 of a tenth of a second in the West that is particularly impressive wow that is absolutely nothing is it that is really really impressive but uh that’s going to going to count with a bit of track limits but yeah he was um he was purple in sector two and three he’s gone quicker again will that lap be deleted though he’s gone quicker again in the first sector it just depends if he set the uh the the parure pad off so they are monitoring track limits at Old Hall corner Cascades and launch they’re the three places they’re monitoring the Trap limits that was Cascades that we saw him drifting very wide over the edge of the road so we’ll keep an eye on the timing tower for now though Callum n is pumping in some good sectors he drops down through the Hislop shade into the tricky off camber rander at nicob Brook Corner misses the tire stack on the Apex accelerates over Clay Hill this is where sector two ends and we’ll momentarily see if he’s continuing that for well it’s a 35.7 as Mark Smith has gone off pulled off I think maybe on the exit of Cascades I don’t know that looked like the car was rotating just as it come into shot yeah yeah still those slick tires isn’t he so that’s not really worked has it lucky boy they do look slick them don’t they yeah he’s he’s been driving around at 2 minutes and one it was worth a try wasn’t it but Callum going to finish this lap off he’s yellow in the in the middle sector what is this going to uh what’s this going to do for him let’s see across the line need’s to find 31,000 of a second can he do it the answer is no a 345 so lost time again in that final seor he does seem hit and miss in the final sector doesn’t he Mark Smith Meanwhile Back underway as you said Paul a very lucky boy not to have Damage Done uh to the Gen W COA spinning at cascade’s corner usually ends up with a fairly expensive repair bill but he’s done well to avoid that this time as yam heads through the same part of the circuit and uses about the same line that he did through Cascades a lap ago yes but they’re all the tires are starting to overheat now for a lot of these drivers they’re all over the place looking for those puddles to cool that soft uh rubber that sits on top of these Goodyear carcasses out of the island her and he goes then bone dry actually on the traction zone out of iseland hapin so I just spotted that on the camera there it is starting to dry out but just a little bit too late uh with a minute and a half left in the session uh further behind by the way we spent a lot of time talking about the top five that’s Bley neam Shephard Marshall Burks and Lewis Brad Hutcherson is Si Luke Sergeant seventh in their pair of coas the returning will Powell in his Honda is eighth but he will start from the back of the grid anyway because that’s a different chassis uh from the one that he raced at br’s hatch at the start of the season and then the first of the Gen one cup drivers that’s Beach who is 1.1 seconds quicker than Rick kry those two having had these uh brilliant battles already this season in the G one cup then it’s Steve Lor again returning uh at the wheel of H would he be spotted right okay so while we’re watching cuman an outl has just happened for Shepherd and he’s done two green sectors in the in the sectors that he’s actually been counted on so to go green and not not be far off 117 there Shepherd excellent stuff from the director again so now we’re going to see oh looks like he’s got no front end that car but what is it going to be it’s a 273 which is quick enough to give him a decent lap time or start it let’s see it will likely be his last attempt here I think oh will beach in the gravel no he’s stuck in the gravel at lodge and that will be Adam Shepard’s chance of pull position gone surely because there’ll be a yellow flag out now at lodge corner cuman by the way having two lap times disallowed but has just gone Personal Best in sector one so the two laps that we saw him run wide at Cascades he has now been pinged for track limits but Adam Shepard outright fastest middle sector but is that yellow flag at lodge going to Scupper him red it’s red it’s gone red what a disaster shepher will see that here he will be devastated and that is the checked flag I think yeah that will be session over so it will be Carl Bley who’d have thought it on pole position so KL Bley maybe can count himself a little bit lucky there at the timing of the red flag he maybe owes will Beach a but anyway KL Bley will be starting provisionally anyway from Pole Position later on this afternoon for the first race of the day for TCR UK with Callum mam alongside him and we’ve got those top four in the championship locking up the top four positions on the grid will Beach will still be the best placed of the um the Gen one cup cars uh with Rick K second and the returning Stewart Lions who has raced of course in TCR UK in the past the now uh boss man of TCR UK the third fastest of those drivers here then is the order it is H going to be Carl Bley on Pole Position here at Alon park by 31,000 of a second in the end over Callum second if that lap stands anyway but even so he should remain ahead of Adam Shepard who was on for pole position had it not been for the red flag Darren Lewis sorry Joe Marshall Burks was fourth Darren Lewis was fifth ahead of Brad hes and Luke sergeant and will Powell with Will Beach uh in ninth position the first gen one cup entry ahead of brick carry those two set to continue their ongoing battle for G one cup honors then it was Steve lador and Stuart lions with Jeff Holden 13 and Mark SMI in 14th Place Brad first and meanwhile never set a lap time because of course he also went off at lodge corner and brought about the first of the two red flag periods so I told you qualifying would be interesting it certainly was it was eventful and it was successful ultimately uh for KL Bley who of course because of setting the uh poll position time has just Ed himself six nice Championship points that’s his best qualifying effort of the season so far as well his first poll position therefore of the season so he gets six Championship points five points for Callum Nan four for Shepard three for Joe Marshall Burks two for Darren Lewis and a solitary point for Brad huton all of this though becomes relevant for the championship as we move forward and uh once those drop scores start to be uh taken into account which we will probably start looking into after this weekend uh then that is definitely going to tighten things up at the top of the table because yes at the moment Adam Shepard has got this very healthy Championship lead but that’s only because he has yet to finish off the podium he’s been on the podium in every single one of the six races so far Adam Shepard whereas the likes of Callum mam he’s had a couple of results at the back end of the top five so he’s dropping fewer points than Adam Shepard and that will tighten things up quite nicely kyl Bley uh likewise has had a couple of races or One race outside of the top three and Joe Marshall Burks of course had that non-start snon last time out which really sort of scuppered his entire weekend so uh yeah that will be uh certainly something that’s going to tight the championship up after Alon park with four more rounds to go after this one we head to CR next then the first of two visits to Silverstone the national circuit uh is the first lay layout at Silverstone that we’ll race on then we head to thron and then we finish back at home a British Motor raceing got the Silverstone International circuit at the end of the year so the drivers heading down to the pit Lane we’ll hopefully get a chance to speak to a couple of them in a moment or so but for now we’re going to take a quick ad break here at Alon Park back with more in a few minutes is your business ready to switch over to Cloud telepan before the BT analog switch off if you’re not sure you can get a telecoms and it health check from Maximum networks for free covering Broadband phone systems it support and more arrange your free audit today at maximum network.co [Music] got so much weight on my [Music] shoulders and have to knock me out but I’m still holding the throne you never know till it’s over you want honest man but you don’t understand I want to be here you wake up again you want all this but you don’t understand I won’t be here when you wake up againest man next year BT switch off their old analog Network for good make sure your business is ready to switch over to Cloud telepan get a telecoms and it health check from Maximum networks today for free future proof your business now arrange your free audit today at maximum networks. co.uk [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] wowers well well that was pretty impressive stuff that was Summer’s back Carl Balley’s back poll position mate must be made up with that what a lap yeah good really good um first time we’ve sort of drived a car in the wet with the settings that we’ve adopted for this year um and yeah all seemed to go go to plan um got a couple of good laps in or what I thought were good laps and yeah just stroked it home yeah like you say don’t know about the summer but who knows talking about summer was there ever a uh a cross in your mind thinking need to be on a I need to be on a slick here cuz some people did try it but it just wasn’t the time I did I I didn’t realize people would actually try it I I was game but big man behind me was having none of it was he so um no it was it was a case of because it’s quite a short session You’ never got never got slicks on and got enough you know enough heat into them to then push but another couple of laps it would have probably been a tire to be on but you know it was always going to be a wet a wet session so yeah was you on the brand new SL uh brand new wets or did you go for scrubbed no I went for some wets that we’d already done about 15 20 laps on because I felt it you know probably come in a little bit better for what I wanted so that’s that’s what we went with and just stuck with the same set for the whole session did see that you were looking for wetest part of the track some people didn’t do that the pressures look like they were going through the roof of some people but you really have to be careful here don’t you oh 100% yeah it’s all about managing the tire isn’t it and you know um just making sure that you’ve got the tire underneath you know underneath you when need it and like you say yeah just hunting for some wet bits and pieces just to keep the tire pressure under control and the heat under control and then you know go for another push laap once you’d um you know got got the tire back under control sorry I’m just looking at Nim here getting fired into scrutineering I didn’t realized that we were uh we were right across the front of scrutineering um would you on a dry setup then did you say or would you on a wet setup because that could be a problem can’t it for technicality sometimes people fire a load a fire wets on they wear down and they end up being uh a bit of a void of the um of the ride out yeah some people all you know make make that mistake one they and be uh full foul of the roller but no we’ve um we’ve got enough about us to know that when we put those tires on we got to lift it up a little bit so that was that was about all we just just made a you know a a little adjustment to the front other than that we basically went with dry settings and put the wets on yeah what’s going to happen last question what’s going to happen in the race it’s going to be dry isn’t it I think it’s going to be dry so yeah we’ll go right back to a dry setting I think we had uh the pace we needed yesterday so uh get off the line and go from there top man um tell me what you got to do now you got to go and get Wade haven’t you I got to go and get Wade and see how many pies I’ve eaten between the last round and this one have a good one Carl well done top work from the team all right cheers perfect well there’s your poll man right let’s go and see Callum Nim’s just sat in that car he qualified P2 I think anyone from P4 really could have been on the pole there was definitely a lot of purples and um a lot of green sectors coming let’s quickly grab will Beach if we can Will’s just in front of us will just come this way fell just get away from that noise um you must be happy and very sad cuz I think you are on the pole uh for the Gen one cup but um bit traction issues into the last Corner Lodge well yeah I don’t know what happened really I just I hit the I was going slower than preparing himself for another lap and he just snatched and went left and that was it then I thought it was going to in the barrier and just managed to keep it out maybe a bit of break break bias or something like that I’m sure the team can have a look I think the tires were going off the lp before me said If that had anything to do with it look strong though mate you must be happy with that because you’ve not really done massive amounts of wet running in the golf I’ve only ever done it at the test media day so uh so yeah pretty pleased with that top man listen we’ll let you crack on but last question actually how is the race going to pan out for you because the testing has been dry isn’t it here but you’ve shown good speed yeah we were pretty strong in testing yesterday and so be nice to get a new set of slicks on move forward overall win oh yeah I love one good man excellent stuff well done will beach in the Gen one cup um let’s see if there’s anyone else around that I can uh speak to no right let’s go let’s go and walk down because we need to speak to second and third uh so we had Callum Nim in second and Adam Shepard um was also in third place I know the drivers are last thing they want to see is me it’s a bit of a weird one we got fiestas out at the minute let’s just uh walk past these guys sorry fellas hey hello mate how are you don’t you be giving me any grief Nick Mason used to do a bit of driving with his with his uh with his son I’m going to get Callum Nim over he’s going to come over for us let’s get away from uh from this noise oh would you mind switching that off what a lovely your team are your team are so nice they’ve Switched Off Your overheating engine fan for us which is Lovely isn’t it um you must be made up meate actually no you mustn’t be because you could have been pole yeah well on that last lap I was a 10th up out the first corner and I lost it all at Cascades so yeah but we stayed out on used used wets the whole the whole session same wets yeah it was interesting I did see some people coming in to maybe come come off the new wets and stick some scrubbed on it was definitely scrubbed wet wasn’t it what’s the difference just tell people at home why you would be on a scrub wet and why it would be better than a brand new one cuz the scrub wet is there’s less rubber on it so the more more you go out on it on a dry track it almost turns into like a a slick if he’s if to say but we full wet you need it when to dispense all the water if there’s loads of water on the track but there was hardly any at the end there like an intermediate wasn’t it it was actually it was actually quite did it ever cross your mind to go slicks yeah but glad you didn’t yeah I’m glad I didn’t yeah that would have been a bad move there’s a few people who tried it mate and they were they were driving around very slow but if there was another red flag and a bit more of a stoppage looks pretty dry ink now doesn’t it yeah but I think rain’s meant to come at 12 again so just before race one so let me just quickly check my weather app are you joking I look at Met Office what do you look at oh dear I just look at me at my phone can’t say I’m let me oh no it’s not it’s going to be windy yeah the Met Office a line teammate oh well never mind top man well done excellent effort good stuff well done Callum neam let us go and find Adam Shepard who is down the road here um P3 is a decent effort Steve lador in the 100 he’s not done too much racing but fair play to him he was fast in testing yesterday today um and he’ll be looking to to go a little bit quicker with slicks on um on that car Joe Marshall he was uh lighting up the it was very close in qualifying but he was lighting up the uh the timing screens in that Audi in the 99 and it looks like Jeff Alden has a little bit of a problem in that Astra as uh as Les and darell who run the team are just underneath that car having a look at what’s going on but we’ll find out a little bit about that later is the most handsome man in the world with the best face the best teeth um Adam Shepard I don’t fancy you mate I’m already taken but um you nearly had the most handsome lap ever there was going to be poll was it yeah it was a long long way up I think we was looking for about a second up um first time I’ve ever driven the car in the wet um wow so we had no idea what we was doing it was just a big guess and it weren’t quite there so we came in tweaked it went back out and it was a lot better and then I say yeah we was way up we was looking for for pole quite comfortably and then uh red flag but Corners to go but that’s mot racing it happens yeah what about um there was you seem to be out of sync with everybody else did you come in and do something with pressures or change tires or go scrub fronts or something happened no we just um we went low with pressures it didn’t work we went up with the pressures and it was like it was just kind of working out what to do with the car really um and then when I’m out there I can see it drying so I’m like do I stay out longer and go for the the driest lap or do you put new T you so it was uh I don’t really know what the others done we just done own thing I’m quite pleased with that obviously gotted that we didn’t get pole but um first time in the wet Max ballast it’s uh yeah it’s not too bad talk to me about this compensation weight it’s a good thing isn’t it h for the championship but this is a difficult place to Lug it round that’s probably really helped you in the wet isn’t it oh I’d rather without it to be honest but um yes it’s 40 kilos so obviously it’s a lot of weight to stop when you’re doing 130 of Mile hour and carry around corners but um it’s part of the championship everyone carries it at different points in the year we had 30 at snon and 40 now so um it swings around about everyone goes for it with they up the front just got to see how it goes of um just quickly what’s going to happen in this race done a bit of testing yesterday should know what the circuits got to offer with slicks on yeah we were quickest yesterday in the dry um so we were kind of hoping for a dry qualifying really um car wasn’t quite in the window still we’re still we’re still learning with it it’s only the third time we’ve we’ve raced it this weekend so um the bumpy circuit was sending the car a bit Lively you think it’s Lively normally you should have seen us yesterday it was a bit of a mess but not a mess it was just a bit it was a bit of a handful but yeah we’ll see we I think our Pace in the dry is good enough to win but it’s hard to overtake here so we’ll see how we go see you get on last question um new tarmac down at most Corners weird isn’t it to have it just in the corners you come off such a different coefficient of tarmac and then you go on to especially Cascades I drove a TCR car on Friday and I couldn’t believe the difference yeah it is it’s um the balance between Corners is a bit odd as well cuz on the way in you got grip on the way out of some you will spinning so yeah is odd but after a few laps you kind of switch off and just um he just becomes a norm but fingers crossed for for a good race talking about switching off mate I’ll let you go cuz I know this uh I know you hate talking to me but you C on had a nice one mate well done Adam Shepard let’s go and see Darren Lewis and his car is always one that you can see pretty uh easily let me see where abouts he is oh he’s up here so Darren Lewis was the poll man for the goodye diamond trophy um let’s see where he is Darren oh actually I was going to talk to Joe Marshall but we’ll leav him for a second just need to speak to Darren because he is the man on the poll for uh for the Goodyear Diamond trophy he’s just talking to his uh his team all right da a lad um can we just have a quick word mate when you’ve got football hooliganism at 10 and a racing driver at 12 I like this Nik is this nox or you just put it on be careful I answer that it’s for prooof is it I thought it was and Well Done mate you’re on the poll for the Goodyear Diamond trophy it’s pretty good effort you you’re flying in the pre-show we were talking about how good you’ve been me and Andy mckuin it’s impressive you’re loving this car aren’t you yeah no the car in the draw yesterday wasn’t as good as I was hoping but in the wet today it just felt real planted but we only went on old tires and I got to a point as I was going through that it just felt like I was driving on jelly and I just thought I kept looking at the Delta and I wasn’t going to go any faster but I think fifth 810 off pole I think that’s quite a result really to be honest quite a result I think that’s pretty impressive for me go home there what you reckon this race it’s going to it’s going it’s going to be dry some drivers are telling me they’ve looked at the weather and the saying it’s going to rain at 12 I hope so you really do you’d rather be in the wetly I’d rather be in the wet the way it felt yesterday in the dry I’d rather be in the wet felt better in the wet than it did in the draw yesterday to be honest but just tell us then you know people at home watching they might be thinking I don’t what’s the what what can it be a how how can a racing car feel bad they’re on Rails aren’t they how was it yesterday why was it so so difficult well I’m getting on a bit now and uh Lin is 61 the corn come a bit faster in the dry so in the wet every a bit slower no I just uh in in in the dry I was I was slowing the car up too much and then getting on the frott too early and and then causing under steer and loads of other things with it um but in the wet then it’s you know what it’s like in a wet in a race car you want to be smooth and I think I drive the car while smooth but these things in the drive need to be a little bit bit aggressive I think but I just need to work on my my dry Pace but I think in the r I’m always better in a race than qualifying so that’s put me in the mix and it so hopefully we can have a good race jobs are good and well the best of luck fell and I’m sure we’ll be seeing you on the podium hopefully I’d love to Cheers buddy I’m sure you will da a well done mate spot on and we did see didn’t we just uh Joe Marshall and he’s actually here with uh with Jack from TCR UK so I’ll quickly speak to him Joe’s always got some good stuff to say he’s a proper Pro actually to be fair um he’s probably talking some Secrets here and Jack will tell him to shut up sorry Jack um Joe that could have been so much better yeah it was looking good mate it felt the first when we first got out the pit it felt really good I thought right here we go we got off out on Old WS thought right here we go then put the new set on the front and then nothing changed it just felt like old weton again we had the similar setup to SN a media day where we were really really quick in the wet and I think it wasn’t wet enough and by the time we put the new on the front again it was too dry so it just a bit of a yeah a bit um annoyed to be honest cuz the car is quick in the wet and I like the wet so but it’s Fourth ain’t bad we still race from there typical Rob Boston I seen you sat in the pits yeah was you waiting for everyone to go or was you thinking slicks maybe it looked like the Slicks were lined up and it was in my eyes it was the right decision but the the the pit Lane open and it was like n we got to stay on wets it looked like that well I was I come in and go I think it’s TR Rob he went no chance I think it is mate honestly so we were going to put them on I thought oh do we need play a bit safer get at least get a lap in and the by the time I got a lap in I was just only improving a 10th and I couldn’t go any quicker I was like I’m just burning me tize for no reason here so just box it said P4 so I was like right we’ll deal with that in the race then so let got a good start and then yeah battle with the top three then fast in testing yesterday got the speed to be winning this race mate where’s going to be the places to overtake uh nowhere what we’re going to do do is drop back to P10 and then get reverse grid pole for R um no you could I mean it is hard to overate round here don’t get me wrong but um there is places where you can so yeah if a showman know somewhere then yeah we’ll go for a move super we’ll send my best of the team I thought they did a great job and tell your brother he just always keeps looking at me every time I see him like we have this weird you know we like we wink at each other and stuff and look hello mate he’s proper strange him yeah well to be honest he go just pulling goes yeah yeah he knows you well he he wakes up me all the time I goes it’s not that’s right I was running from witness Joe let you go well done mate spot on Joe Marshall somebody who can win this title definitely and that Audi from Rob Boston racing is a pretty pretty special car so it’s all happening here at TCR UK um I was going to go and speak to some other people but I think most of them are gone Luke Sergeant might be somebody to talk to actually if we’ve got a bit of time Luke Sergeant just on my my right hand side here he’s talking to Rich his engineer and I’m going to I’m going to chop in here I always sorry Rich fuming no he’s all right he’s good it’s good he’s one of the best he’s one of the best people to work on a car that I have ever work with that guy is special isn’t he everyone knows him yeah everyone knows Rich he’s uh he knows every he’s he get a car and he knows everything and he’ll tweak this tweak that and I’m like okay and then he go try that and it’s better and try that again it’s better again he just riches uh yeah he’s he’s good I like it how nice is it to have that when you’re someone that’s new to front-wheel drive new to touring car racing it’s nice to have somebody that’s got so much experience that you can just press on a especially when it’s changeable like that good thing this year obvious all G to copras so last year obviously Hy you know inside out so the cpra he got on on it straight away and Adam set up and mine have been been great all all year which is nice so he’s just Rich’s just everyone knows Rich he’s just he’s just proper you did make me laugh before on the pit wall when you said um you didn’t want to test yesterday and look wasn’t worth testing really was it I know it’s going to be dry later but I think I was a second off I haven’t been here since literally racing myantra last year um I I just come test yesterday and thing this year is there’s the top five everyone knows the top five and then there’s sort like me Darren Lewis will Brad thirst and L L LA L name so I think I knew I was going to be like six to 9th so I thought what’s the point in testing I know where we’re going to be roughly so just gr and colly thought it might be drying quality and just trying and go from there but it was wet which G me a little bit of an advantage um I was a little bit in qualifying I was I was miles away from I wanted to be I knew where there was time I was losing time and I could have just pushed on but after seeing everyone going off and going on the the full circuit a couple of times myself I just thought just go around get a decent position if we can and just go in the race and I think we’ll we’ll move forward in the race top man uh last question in the race where are you going to be pushing on where’s the where’s the Cooper strong um up the the hills with the power it’s up the hills I’ve got no weight as well so I think um Through The Hairpin up the hill going up to Druid up the hill there I think it’ll be strong um I think Joe will be quick I think I think this will be Joe’s weekend this weekend but and the COA up the hills will be where it’s strong hopefully well you heard it from Luke Sergeant Jo Marshall is a legend and he’s going to win everything that he applies himself to we’ll see what happens well done lukee and um yeah we’re going to go to an advert break and we’ll catch you in a bit is your business ready to switch over to Cloud telepan before the BT analog switch off if you’re not sure you can get a telecoms and it health check from Maximum networks for free covering Broadband phone systems it support and more arrange your free audit today at maximum networks. co.uk [Music] got so much weight on my [Music] shoulders and have to knock me out but I’m still holding the throne you never know then it’s over you want honest me [Music] but you don’t understand I want to be here with you wake up again you want Hest man but you don’t understand I want be here you wake up again you’re honest man next year BT switch off their old analog Network for good make sure your business is ready to switch over to Cloud telepan get a telecoms and it health check from Maximum networks today for free future prooof your business now arrange your free audit today at maximum networks. co.uk [Music] [Music] [Music] he’s all the way around the outside filed for the lead side by side who’s going to be the bigger man [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is your your business ready to switch over to Cloud telephony before the BT analog switch off if you’re not sure you can get a telecoms and it health check from Maximum networks for free covering Broadband phone systems it support and more arrange your free audit today at maximum network.co [Music] got so weight on my [Music] shoulders and have to knock me out but I’m still holding the thr you never know then it’s over you want honest [Music] but you don’t understand I want be here you wa up again you want all this but you don’t understand I won be here when you wake up again you’re honest man next year BT switch off their old analog Network for good make sure your business is ready to switch over to Cloud telepan get a telecoms and it health check from Maximum networks today for free future proof your business now arrange your free audit today at maximum networks. co.uk [Music] it is everybody’s favorite opal Astro driver have I got that right Jeff um I’m the only opal Astro driver that’s what I meant is it it is an opal aser is it’s not a Vox all ler is that because it’s left hand drive um I think because it came from Germany or somewhere like that so yeah good answer mate good answer um what uh what’s been occurring mate there is a lot of things going on at the front of your car we had a small problem with the engine mount snapping and then the turbo pipe came off so we couldn’t go any faster devastated so we only got one lap in but hey such as life we still we’ll still get out there for the next race so uh at least you saved some wet tires fella you going to obviously be on slicks for this race aren’t you hope hopefully if it stays like it is now yeah we’ll be on slicks for the next one and then uh see where we go we’re not that Farine with I think we’re 13th or 14th or something so it’s not it’s not it’s not the end of the world DW race are pretty good people aren’t they and obviously with Matrix Motorsport you guys know what you’re doing have you got the parts to get this car fixed cuz that’s the problem isn’t it definitely we if we haven’t got the parts we’ll make them and we have got a big hammer if nothing else so yeah you might missed that we were just off there and then one of the one of the boys from the team was like I got a big hmer and but I thought they were on about me well it could have been you it could have been me but but no we’re all right yeah the guys are get it fixed darl and the guys are are brilliant so we’ll we’ll make sure that we get it out for the races how’s the uh how’s the car looking the car is it’s not the newest of cars but it’s a fantastic car it’s always been a trusty car I remember darl actually did he finish second here last second year I think Dar was second here last year in it so it’s it’s quick we we’ve had some problems beginning the season but snap was getting better um and it’s yeah it’s quick it’s quick in a straight line we just got to get it around corners a bit better um so no it’s a it’s a good car you know for for a gem one it’s it does the job and we’re we’re we’re having fun which is the main thing you know what the really interesting thing is for me so Les who’s uh just here just have a quick look at Les look he’s picking all his stuff up so Les spanned my car for me at knill in another Touring Car Championship I’ve never seen Les not working he is like the hardest working man in planet Earth isn’t he darl makes him work really hard and unfortunately with with having to look after my car he has to work doubly hard I’m sure like he did with yours well he did yeah because I remember I had a radiator I had the front uh the front was off the car Les didn’t stop working how how how good is it to to be able to you know drive for these guys CU they literally they don’t leave a stone ont to be honest they’re brilliant yeah we we’ve been racing together three or four years now and they look after me in the car really well and I can’t fault them to be honest you know it’s it’s a good family atmosphere and we have lots of fun top man listen I’ll leave you to it Jeff Alden um I’m sure you’ll go well in the dry mate keep it on the island and you will be sound right we were going to speak to Rick kry but it’s all good because if Rick’s not around I actually want to speak to this man on the right with the cap on um and this is Brad thirst he’s back in the championship he’s in a different car and um he looks the part to be fair so he should be uh should be fast Brad I hate the fact not very well oh what’s the matter are you okay s Thro oh no and I’ve actually got a bit of s Thro but thank you for keeping your distance because I’ve got a little bit of headache as well so I don’t want to give you that and just quickly then mate I know you probably don’t want to chat forever what a nightmare literally that is a nightmare down at lodge isn’t it I’ve never never driven a car in the wet don’t really like Orton it’s one of them see what happens from the back of the grid you’re having a bad day mate really weekend it’s a bit of a difficult one cuz it’s a change of car isn’t it for you so that means that you you’re just carrying a little bit of a um a problem but we’re carrying 20 kilos extra ballast as well so see what happens get on with it make get through it I’m sure you’ll be fine we’ll leave you to it cuz I don’t want to uh I don’t want to compound your day by having to speak to me too much time Rick kry I’m going to speak to Brad good luck mate um fair play to him a lot of people would probably call it a day and uh if they were feeling that ill we can see they’ve got all sorts of stuff going on haven’t they in that car and they’re having to yeah they’re having to replace a lot of things I think what they they’re probably doing is getting a lot of the parts off so they can get the gravel out because if you get a stone in in the front of uh one of these Hondas or any race car to be fair it can go up into the belt and if it fires a belt off it can do a 20 30 grand engine so that is why they’re taking it so seriously looks like they’re getting some seals on the go as well you can probably see the gentleman in the middle of the uh sat down just twisting a a seal there that’s probably to seal the gearbox back up or something like that so there’s a lot of stuff going on they may have a little underlying issue there so we’ll keep you informed on that but I’d like to see Brad goell because the team do look good ran by Will Powell right another man that I wanted to speak to was Rick kry here he is um do you ever not qualify near will Beach I mean you can’t you guys are inseparable like but you’re having a good old running G one cup aren’t you yeah it’s good um it’s nice to have like will you know we seem to be wherever circuit we’re at seem to be really close bit G cuz I popped the dry shaft snapped the dry shaft I was 810 up halfway through the dry track so I still re I would have been faster but um you know it’s to be 10th overall in second in class missing half a qualifying take that any day you were the talk of a of a garage that I was in yesterday and the reason you were the talk of the garage that I was in yesterday is because I was actually at the test day and I was in a car so I was doing uh a little bit of a Shakedown of a car and just helping out with a bit of data you were in front of me and I’ve never seen anyone go out the pit so fast I couldn’t catch you mate and not to be disrespectful I’ve won like a lot of things and I was like why is Rick kry turned out to be a legend what’s going on you were flat out you were quick yesterday yeah it was good um I like goldon um we sort of we want try be two 25 minute sessions you got to maximize it so I wanted to get out there get quick and um on one of these drivers you like to get into a rhythm and it’s only when you get into a rhythm that you actually know what you got to do to modify the car to make it quicker so I needed to get into that to know that we could go faster today so yeah I was uh I was determined to get out there and go fast you were pinned I was like I can’t even get in his toe he rapid um how’s the car feeling around here cuz it’s not the easiest of circuit I always F I always find that these these touring cars always feel very big and the circuit feels very small yeah it’s it’s a circuit always light it’s in the early days it’s one of them circuits you nearly got to conquer um but it’s also a circuit you can make mistakes so it’s just driving within the limits um it’s a bit bumpy it’s got a bit of everything um some some Corners sort of in between gear ratios you’re two quick in third um you’re not quite quick enough in fourth I’m hoping with new eyes on just to gain that little bit of corner speed will mean I can go through and forth um but I like the track it’s it’s one of me always been one of me I one here before in in B WS um but yeah it’s one of them tracks Alik it’s lovely isn’t it and the sun’s out now mate it’s going to be dry isn’t it yeah I think it will be so which is I don’t know which I’d have preferred being in a gen one car I mean generally gen One cars are quite probably softer than than the Gen 2os but this is a circuit with the Gen ones and twos are closer so um yeah we’ll say it’d be nice for reverse grid to do I’m assuming they’re doing the reverse grid today but it’d be nice to be somewhere up there on a track that you feel you could do a bit more with than snon I Disappeared didn’t they well we’ll see the so circuit’s a bit smaller and sure you be grand well done Rick K we’ll catch you in a bit thank you top man right it is time to go to an advert break lovely is your business ready to switch over to Cloud telepan before the BT analog switch off if you’re not sure you can get a telecoms and it health check from maximum networks for free covering Broadband phone systems it support and more arrange your free audit today at maximum networks. co.uk e [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] welcome back to Alton Park everybody where the cars for the miltech sports Civic cup are heading out onto the track Sterling work as always by Paul O’Neal uh down in the pit Lane to keep us entertained during that small delay and even more Sterling work by our marshalling team who have repaired a barrier at Alton Park they have cleared up an oil spill from the top of Hilltop in fact from the island Hain all the way down through the Hislop chicane and nicker Brook and they’ve got the track ready and raring to go now for a 15minute short sharp qualifying session for the miltech sports Civic cup that will set the grid for their first of two races later on today and as we can see the track conditions now improving every minute really uh there is now a definitive Dry racing line around the circuit so uh cast your mind back less than an hour ago really uh when the um TCR UK cars headed out onto the circuit for qualifying it was still a sodn circuit with lots of standing water and uh lots of slippery areas now though Paul O’Neal uh track conditions looking much much better uh however for civic cup there isn’t so much of a tire Lottery going on they have one tire that they use can rain or shine and is now just a case of getting those tires up to temperature and getting in the groove slippery area Motorsport very nice yeah very nice no you’re dead right this looks as dry as it can be the only thing is is I would think there might be a few puddles here and there just on the curbs of some of the exits but we’ll see about that the drivers will be quick to pick them up and uh already Max Edmonson headlights on for L out yes he is Max Edmond oh that is Harry England and that is not the racetrack so Harry’s gone off and into a barrier so old hole Corner he’s got straight on an old Hall corner and again Paul so easy to do that because it’s another of those bumpy breaking zones yeah it is it’s a bumpy breaking Zone but also if you catch uh the white line that might be still a bit wet on the left hand side as you approach old Hall then that’ll be you red flags are out and that is the every session is a red flag isn’t it and that oil that was down you were just talking about I thought that would be the end of our uh nightmare stuff H yes sadly it only just begins but look we can’t we keep saying what a great track Alton Park is and what and the drivers absolutely love it here and part of the reason they love it is that it is an old school circuit if you get it wrong it bites and unfortunately it does lead to the odd delay here and there but I think the drivers would take this wouldn’t they over a Silverstone for example which is very flat very wide open expanses of T run up area here if you get it wrong you’re punished yeah you are and look at the you see where the tire marks are for Harry England that that is a that is a that is a lockup like pretty early doors I think he’s just been a bit too far to the uh see the right hand side where there’s that extra bit of TAC past the white line on the right if you touch that and it’s still damp a front left lock up that’s it it’s game over but like you say if you said to me can we um either drive at Silverstone or at ulton not to be disrespectful to the National circuit at Silverstone this place is 20 minutes down the road for me but not just that it is superb and when you do a lap of this circuit you usually remember it uh yeah absolutely especially in a Civic Cup car because you’ve got to drive these things on the limit haven’t you to get a good lap time out of them which is a lot easier to do I would imagine at a Silverstone than it is here at at Alton Park so yeah proper driver’s circuit he’s hit that quite hard you know yeah I mean there’s not well look how look how far the car is off the circuit you as soon as you leave the circuit and he’s he’s left the circuit at quite a high rate of knots he’s hit that hard because look where the tire marks are that car’s bounced hard that’s going to be quite a lot of that could be a bit of barrier damage you know then wck to cell barriers that you can just see where Harry’s opening his car door just in front of him that reell Barrett I cannot tell you they’re so expensive them and msv and and Jonathan Palmer they are amazing people for putting so many of them out because they save cars and they obviously save lives as well absolutely cuz I almost guarantee the front of Harry England’s car is going to be barely damaged because they they cushion the impact so well but you’re right the the metal arm cob area behind that will still have taken a whack and that’s the the risk so I suspect that is why the Alton Park van the circuit maintenance van has made its way for the second time in quick succession to Old Hall corner because we had a a bit of barrier repair to be done after the fiesta Junior practice session earlier on uh and they’re just going to check the barrier over and make sure that uh the arm barrier itself doesn’t need too much in the way of fixing right then as I was starting to say before that all kicked off Max Edmonson your championship leader after six races so far this year he has won three of them two of them have been won by Josh files and the other one by alist Camp and unsurprisingly therefore they are the three drivers who find themselves at the top of the championship table Edmonson leads by 27 points at the moment over Josh files those two quite frankly are in a different League to everybody else they’re both on well Edmonson 20 30 points files on 203 alist Camp is next he’s on 141 points so a country mile back this is before dropped scores and normally Paul as a commentator I um on quite happy to go on the record to say I detest drop scores because it means I have to do maths but uh this is where I’m quite grateful for them because it does bring the likes of campi Spencer Stevenson Harvey catley and Mill will Redford LS Kent right back into the picture again once those drop scores are applied and it it pretty much guarantees that when we get to Silverstone at the end of the year we will have multiple drivers going for this Championship yeah I I’m I’m right with you on that I’m not a massive fan of drop scores but I’ve got to say I mean that table is very representative of what we’re seeing isn’t it let’s let’s not be around the bush the one thing I will say though is I spoke to Ben Sharp yesterday and they think that they’ve been um hindered by a certain problem on the chassis with most of their cars oh really yes so they resol and they think they’ve resolved it cuz they were testing yesterday so so Ben Sharp racing so the uh the likes of your Spencer Stevenson um Harvey Kon and uh and people like that will Redford I think you might see um a bit of an upturn in Fortune for them interesting well they’ve not been slow have they let’s be honest you know they have been well and truly taking the fight to area Motorsport area have the top three positions in the driers championship but then Spencer Stevens and Harvey Kon for Ben Sharp racing are fourth and fifth Ben himself is a former star of the miltech sports Civic cup as well so he knows what makes one of these cars tick and uh he’s a good man to have operating that team so yeah if they’re going to be even quicker now from this weekend on uh that is terrific news there you go Family Day Out sit there while your dad’s on Bumble looking for his dating up while his wife doesn’t know I’m joking that’s a total joke just before anybody gets gets uh angry with me I’m sure he’s just texting his Miss saying we’re having a great time and Harry England’s in the barrier uh yes indeed so and I’m sure they are itching to get cars back out on track as are we but Paul we just got a glimpse of that barrier I don’t know whether we can get another shot of it maybe but it did look as though the Armco had moved slightly so they’ll just want to make sure you can see here where the impact’s been it’s just moved ever so slightly they’ll want to try and sort that out won’t they yeah definitely see the wooden posts behind that metal barrier you know as well as me they will have to be checked because that’s probably hit that barrier at 50 60 MPH you can see how far it’s it’s hit it and bounced yeah across and back so so yeah they’ll check all them posts I think that Marshall there on the right with the clipboard he’s probably just writing a report and saying uh what’s happened it looks at the minute as though they’re just going to put them Rector cells back and maybe they’ve they’ve checked um well actually looking down there out of your shot there’s actually a JCB now I don’t know if the jcb’s pulling the car it is yeah right okay so the JCB is pulling the car out sometimes the jcb’s there to hammer the posts back in look at the front of the car I mean there’s hardly a scratch on the front of that car that car well they’ll check the tracking check the splitter it might need a new splitter but apart from that it’s ready to go Paul that is amazing yeah that is crazy that is that is how good them Rec the cell bar is and honestly they’re about I might get this wrong but they’re they’re not cheap they’re like a few thousand pounds see look at these guys now they’re like oh have you seen what Paul O’Neal has been saying there about me on a dating site oh no he’s with his wife it’s fine but it’s nice isn’t it to see families out there because it’s not the best of weather at the minute but um what else would you want to do on a oh wow that take that back mate because that that has I tell you what is that that might be a bad camera angle but that looked like it’s moved the wheel it’s hard to tell if he’s got steering lock on or not but there certainly damage to the left hand left front corner isn’t there of the uh Harry England car one of a handful of fn2 shaped Civics that we’ve got on the grid uh again this weekend and Harry former Fiesta Junior star been getting quicker as the uh year has gone on so far uh scored points in three races so far this year but sadly his chances of scoring points here at Alon Park hamper because of course he hadn’t set a lap time yet either so he will be uh unfortunately starting from the back of the grid if they get that car fixed in time for the uh first of the Civic Cup races which is to come a little bit later on today the first Civic Cup race is the first race of the day at 11:50 that’s only in an hour and a half’s time so uh I know we haven’t had a proper look at that car but it certainly looks as though the pro Alloys racing team are going to have quite a bit of work to do to uh to get it ready for the race to come a little bit later on so uh recovery process ongoing down at Alon Park another chance for us to remind you of the hard work that the men and ladies of the marshalling team do uh here at Alon Park and around the whole country really it’s uh it’s a busy Motorsport season these days in the UK there are often five or six events going on at the same time around the country and yet very very rarely do race meetings find themselves short of Marshals because there are more and more people now who want to get in in on the action they want to do their bit to help uh Motorsport in the UK to continue to flourish and uh they all do this on a completely volunteer basis and uh that really makes it all the more incredible to me really that they are willing to do this simply For the Love of the sport their enthusiasm is boundless isn’t it Paul you and I both know this even when they have a day like this one’s becoming where they never get a moment’s rest yeah I I honestly I I don’t say it enough and I do say it a lot in commentary like yourself the the in Orange are um it’s just a it’s a cliche isn’t it you don’t have them you don’t go racing and that’s with the circuit staff as well you know the Circ staff will be paid to be here but I can think of better things to do than put a barrier back together so I do I do doth map I’m an ambassador for the bmmc um so I do quite a bit with those uh boys and girls and I’ve done a a taste a day for the marshals so I was here for a full day in November 2022 and um I think it’s been said before I think as a racing driver Motorsport UK and I might get in trouble for this Motorsport UK should be looking to make it a stipulation that a driver has to marshal for I know they can marshal for a signature on the race license but it should be mandatory because it just gives you an idea of what they have to go through and what they’re trained to do and what they’re you know they’re they’re doing to help you I went I’ve been to the fire training with um with another championship covering that uh on TV and it’s it’s eye opening in mate I mean some of these Marshals and I don’t want to get too into this but some of these Marshals have seen some horrendous things and to to keep coming back and to want to help out um you know that it’s as it’s as it’s as dangerous as being a racing driver you go out there you know the dangers end of the day bless them we’ve had people lose their lives in in in marshalling and and we should always respect what they’re doing and they’re giving up their time and and and um and everything else like the racing drivers are doing as well so it’s a nice little family though isn’t it they they appreciate the drivers giving them a wave and they appreciate the drivers coming to see them and and yeah it’s great they’re good people no they absolutely are and I completely second uh your opinion there drivers should all give it a go because far too often I see a driver perhaps involved in an on on track tangle they end up in a gravel trap the Marshalls come over to check their okay and then they get a bit of lip from the driver you know and of course if the drivers spent a day or two in the Marshall shoes they’d realize that actually that’s probably not the right way to react to that so uh yeah it would be a brilliant idea as far as I’m concerned Harry England uh watching on as the hardworking Marshals put his car up on a flatbed Tru we can see now that left hand side of the car has taken a bit of a battering but the tracking doesn’t seem too bad I’m pretty sure they’ll get that car turned around uh but as I said only well realistically less than an hour and a half now to get that car ready to be out in the assembly area ahead of time for their first race a little bit later on but all the while that we are not running that track gets drier and drier and drier and we are far more likely now to see some really quick lap times uh when we do get the session back underway so we have got a little look at that they’re already uh they’re just getting that car all all fastened in with the ratchet strap so it doesn’t move but that front left it you can’t tell from here but I would I would think that that has moved you can see you can see the door stoved in as well so it’s took quite a big hit I think when it’s gone in because it’s on an angle um at uh the first corner I think that will have took quite a big hit and you can see how much the um you can see how much the split has been been moved as well so yeah it’s that’s going to be a bit of a task but uh Hey listen Pro Alloys and know mugs they know what’s going on they know what to do and all things considered I still sort of s stand by my statement earlier on given the size and the speed of that impact the car doesn’t look bad certainly not half as bad as it would have been had that just been a normal oldfashioned tire wall so yeah those Rector cell barriers have saved an awful lot of damage but still given the prow Alloys racing team a little bit of work to do good to see a good crowd on hand here Aton parkon Park always is a well supported circuit isn’t it there are lots of people in the local area and Beyond indeed who will travel to Alon Park regularly uh to enjoy a day’s Motor Racing it’s starting to get busier and busier now as the sun comes out the grand stand starting to fill up as well so good to have a good crowd of people on hand to enjoy the racing as and when we get to it but before that we’ve got the matter of a qualifying session that very shortly we hope will be resumed bit of barrier repair work going on down in dalon part so whilst the Marshals are doing that we’ll take a quick break and be back with qualifying for the Civic Cup in a few moments is your business ready to switch over to Cloud telepan before the BT analog switch off if you’re not sure you can get a telecoms and it health check from Maximum networks for free covering Broadband phone systems it support and more arrange your free audit today at maximum networks. co.uk [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] he’s all the way around the outside filed for the lead side by side who’s going to be the bigger [Music] man next year BT switch off their old analog Network for good make sure your business is ready to switch over to Cloud telepan get a telecoms and it health check from Maximum networks today for free future proof your business now arrange your free audit today at maximum networks. co.uk [Music] welcome back to ulton park everybody the track clearing of Marshals now so within the next 30 seconds or so we should have the session for the miltech sports Civic Cup qualifying back underway fact less than that look at that impeccable timing uh cars heading back out on circuit now uh for a slightly shorten session so 10 minutes now remain on the clock they had about 12 and 1/2 minutes uh when the red flags came out so an even shorter Dash now uh for that really important prize which is Pole Position here at Al part we know how significant that can be lots of races here get wood from Pole Position not all of them uh but an awful lot of them so important to try and get yourself as close to the front of the grid as possible but of course everyone’s been queued up in the pit l now they’re all being released as one they don’t really have time to mess around dropping back and finding clean air so traffic management could be key here in the early stages we’ve got sector times to watch for uh when we do start getting lap times in so that will hopefully tell us ahead of time who’s going quickly but we sort of know the usual contenders that we need to watch out for the likes of Max Edmonton Josh files the top two in the championship will Redford his local track of course c number 42 will Redford uh tends to go pretty well here as well Will’s had a bit of an under the radar start of the season I would say he’s seventh in points he’s had just the one Podium that coming in the second race at Bran’s hatch at the start of the Season which was a reversed grid race of course and he would love to qualify well here today give himself a shot of a good result in race one so Paul O’Neal you’ve got well now 8 and 1/2 minutes on the clock by the time you get round to start lap that’s going to be closer to 7 and 1 half or 8 minutes there’s a whole sea of traffic around you how on Earth do you get your head down and get in the zone here to set a quick lap time well it’s not just that mate there’s a lot of people who had a lot of good space who have got nothing now so I think we’re going to see an interesting little mix up on the grid but the cream usually Rises to the top mate so I think it’s something to uh to actually really look forward to because there’s going to be a little bit of Towing and if you’re lucky you might get a good lap time out of it well the first four cars out of the pit Lane where Max Edmonson car number one he doesn’t miss a trick does he Sam CT Patrick Alex Camp Le and Mill all of the quick drivers so they got themselves to the front of the queue and they have got beautiful clean air so watch for those four in particular to set good lap time Sam C Patrick actually fastest of anyone in the final sector of his outl although these are now where we start to get the proper representative times no will buts and will Redford have ow made contact at Old Hall corner that looked really really odd we only caught the back end of that there Paul but butsy is now stuck in the newly installed gravel trap at Old Hall corner that is there to catch cars before they hit the barriers uh didn’t really work early on for Harry England and that is likely going to be another stoppage B that’s going to be a red that uh I that’s interesting what I don’t understand unless he’s just turned across the front of him or it might be something that that was out of both of their control but I mean that is horrendous Josh vies now on the 99 with the headlights on he’ll be like oh come on guys I was trying to get a lap what are they going to do here because if they’re not careful they’re going to have a One-Shot Showdown what they could do is let everybody cross the line and then stop the session because then everyone would have compl oh no they’ve the red flagged it never mind uh so red flags come out straight to well I was going to say if they let everyone complete a lap they would have all completed their three mandatory laps that uh sort of Legally qualify you to race and then we would have something like a grid order but no the red flags fly once again and we have 7 minutes left on the clock of what is already a delayed and shortened qualifying session there will be something written into the regulations that uh explains what will happen basically if we were to have a a qualifying session that simply couldn’t take place or you know where only a couple of laps were completed we do have lap times I suppose but not representative lap times 18 minutes at the moment the PO position time for Max edmanson so I’m not really sure what they would do they will probably have to go uh to Championship Standings to give us a grid if we can’t get the session back underway but we’ll wait and see what happens this shouldn’t take too long though there’s no barrier damage the car will be easily extricated from the gravel trap and so we should get some sort of qualifying session uh back underway but as we saw it takes them 3 minutes really to get the whole field out of the pit Lane and round to even start a fly lap so this is now going to be real pressure on when we get going yeah this is going to be a mixed up grid isn’t it and uh has anyone actually no no one’s actually done a lap time have they cu the last yeah it’s just it’s just showing that the on TSL that it’s an 18 minute and 13 second lap for po position not quite lap record that is but I would actually like to see uh you know if they do put it down it’s stopped on 6 minutes 59 seconds but you’re only going to get one flying lap really back cuz they might even can just drop that to 5 minutes that’s going to be out of the way in like 2 minutes so they’ll be going in a second but that’s not the point is it no it’s not the length of time that we’re under red flag it’s the length of time it takes them to get back out of the pit Lane and onto a flying lap as long as you start a flying lap before the check and flag comes out you are then entitled to uh complete it Marshall’s pushing the uh car out of the way oh I thought that that was a postman getting involved but it’s actually the driver to the truck I was like where’s he parked his bike uh yes he is dressed rather differently from the marshals that were working on the scene down at Old Hall corner anyway will has driven his car out of the gravel trap now and back towards the pit Lane there’s a bit of sweeping work to be done and then we’ll try again third time looky hopefully uh for the miltech sport Civic C we were getting some sector times in I’m just going to drop these down actually because these could prove significant when we do get going fastest first sector so far is a 277 uh and the fastest second sector 36216 those set by Sam Kur Patrick and alist Camp respectively so interestingly Paul the little bit of Runing we had we haven’t got a lot to work with here so we might as well just dissect the two sectors that we’ve got to analyze uh Kur Patrick fastest in sector one Camp fastest in sector 2 and quite a chunk quicker than Edmonson was there on cold tires yeah so there is yeah that’s interesting is it that it’s the it’s the normal it’s the normally fast people that are heading the T the the sectors isn’t it so they the thing is when when you’re in traffic it’s a nightmare one person just makes one little mistake and it’s that’s it it’s game over but I would expect Max Edmonson the top three there Camp’s going to have a good time if they don’t hold each other up look lisis Kent’s there as well I think he’s about the sixth car back all the fast people most of the fast people are up the front aren’t they the one who isn’t is Spencer Stevenson I think he’s buried in the middle of the pack so uh and you could argue maybe Dave Marshall although he’s at least top third uh but Pro Alloys sent all of their cars out at the same time you can quite clearly see that they’re all in the middle of the pack there is Spencer Steven not far behind them so that car by the way has been completely rebuilt in it might even be a new car it is a new car after s had that nasty accident uh at snon and uh that was a shame because he’s been the real standout performer hasn’t he brand new to the championship this year still a title Contender once the drop scores calculated and benchart racing if he does go on to contend for the championship he can thank them for that because they have worked overtime just to get him here yeah Ben Shar was saying that they were they only got the car I think not that long ago few days ago and they had to obviously strip it and and uh transplant all the bits but no typical benchart racing they’re such a clever outfit like the the top teams are brilliant in this they they could the top teams in this could run in any Championship yeah took the words right out of my mouth I think the likes of area Motorsport benar racing Pro Alloys racing I’m going to get told off now for forgetting someone but all of the front running teams in this Championship you could put them on any grit uh certainly in the UK probably Beyond and they would do very very well in fact we’ve seen that haven’t we from Pro Alloys and um aot sport in the past right session back underway they’ve just Frozen the clock and then continued so with just under 7 Minutes of the session to go we try again third time the cars have been released from the pit Lane and now onto what is a completely bone dry tracker certainly as far as the uh start finish trate is concerned but that final sector always takes a little bit longer to dry and uh so that could be still a slightly treacherous part ofon part circuit for them to deal with but uh the field makes their way out onto the circuit lead I believe still by Max Edmonson he was at the front of the queue once again and that’s will Redford getting feisty again he’s just Tangled with will but so now he’s locking up The Brak steaming up the inside of one of the pro Alloys cars there into cascade’s corner but he wants to get on with this and try and get some clean air knowing that really he’ll have two flying laps maybe three depending on the timing of it uh to set his grid position for the first race it’s Waring here now mate just I’m just going to zip this off sorry if you heard that back at getting undressed everyone yep you love it mate now I’m just uh just turn this jacket off it’s really hot isn’t it now it is right the red lights are on the because these are not slick tires they will be flat out from the pit lane exit they don’t need to warm these things up particularly by the time they come to start the lap the tires will be a one to go that’s interesting okay so that that is a big difference we talk about uh tires a lot and slick tires for certain championships like TCR and then sort of non-slick tires for the Civic cup it’s very quickly from your perspective having driven cars on on both tires what are the big differences in feel and in driving style between racing on a slick and something like a Civic cup Tire just the when you drive out the pit Lane with a slick Tire it wheel spins it’ll wheel spin for three laps sorry three laps three corners four corners and by the time you’ve got the fronts too hot in a touring car the rears are doing absolutely nothing that’s why you see the the TCR cars they cross the tires from the rear to the front these Civics they won’t need to do that because the tires will come up to temperature pretty quick across the front and pretty quick across the rear which is just trailing around but the lateral grip Andy I cannot explain to you it’s when a slick switch is on just like a switch the Heat and the grip is unbelievable these tires they literally need four corners and you could do a half respectable lap time no doubt no doubt excellent thank you see this is why we keep you around for you do know what you’re talking about sometimes right then we are getting sector times in Liam McGill fastest of anybody in the first sector he is uh one of the cars I believe if anybody just gone through shot I think he’s overtaken a couple of the other area Motorsport cars at the front of the queue Dave Marshall tips his way into the Hislop chicane interesting to see how the fn2 gets on this weekend Paul there are a few of them they’re all getting quicker uh but this looks like one of those tracks that maybe the ep3 might have a bit of an advantage on uh certainly alist Camp is not setting the the timing screens Al light on this lap but Liam McGill is car number 62 towards us at lodge Corner might be about to go to provisional pole position let’s get the Benchmark in then Max Edmonton crosses the line the benchmarker 135.4 210 quicker than Sam CT Patrick a full 7/10 quicker than campy Mill only third within 2/10 of that top tie so it’s close between the area cars yeah maybe he was just a bit a bit steady through Druids Druids and Lodge Corner are your last sector um and the exit of nickar Brook shicane so if youve if you’ve got it a bit wrong it’s or a bit steady you’re in a bit of trouble files up to Second you’ve just pointed out brilliant and interesting that files isn’t with the other area cars is he so you’ve got Edmonson and campy and McGill all at the front of the queue files came through a good few seconds later he’s about a sector behind them on the track so that’s interesting I don’t know whether we’re reading too much into that but we have been sort of wondering how long he and Max Edmondson would keep working together this season maybe they’ve decided now to go It Alone there is a Surface flag out at Old Hall corner I presume that’s because there’s still a bit of gravel out at that particular part of the circuit but it’s not slowing down Max Edmonson who is on provisional po position by a fraction over a tenth of a second and in the first sector of this lap has done a personal best but only 100 quicker than Josh files so they’re trading sector times again yeah but he’s gone yellow in the second sector now but he’s coming up the hill introduced look at that car so loose at the rear slings it into the double Apex look at this on the exit oh beautiful that’s why a slick Tire sometimes can be a little bit too much and these Groove tires just let the car slip and I love it looks great doesn’t it that four-wheel drift through Druids now hits the power out of Lodge Corner files has bailed on this lap by the way so he’s going to have realistically one more lap maybe two there will be two more laps for Edmonson who crosses the line and doesn’t improve uh nor behind him does Sam CT Patrick anyone else improving yes Li Mill goes third as Edon has a huge line that was not a controlled four-wheel drift that was a little bit of lift off over steer wow well I could tell you just looking at Druids that that car if he’d have put any more lock on at Druids it had have spun off and there through old old Hall it was well loose and that car to me is set up for the race and qual I mean if you’ve got a car that loose that’s unbelievable gives out gives up out of that well okay that woke everyone up didn’t it certainly Max Edmonson he backs out of that lap unsurprisingly uh Sam CT Patrick by the way back ahead of Liam McGill because McGill has had a lap time disallowed for track limits so there is Liam McGill he was third but on your screen you can see he’s had his lap time disallowed for exceeding track limits Sam then waved on by uh Max Edmonson who we know won’t improve on this lap uh but we’ll still have time for one more attempted this so as it stands Edmonson pole file second catrick third McGill fourth two1 all that separate the four of them Lewis Kent is fifth can be sick the best of the FN tws ahead of Spencer Stevenson Harvey Kon will Redford and Alex kite completing the top 10 so more or less the regulars at the front of the field I would say but one more lap still for that to change those cars are so loose tell you who’s in the pound seats here campy campy could get a good toe here but look look at what’s happened Max edmonson’s going to get held up because Patrick is not as fast as him uh yeah Patrick well on this lap does seem to be going a bit slower but actually he’s only a 10th and a half or so slower than edmundson’s time Max might get a nice slipstream as long as he doesn’t catch Kurt Patrick too quickly so across the line they go then one more lap to go in the qualifying session Spencer Stevenson now having a lap time disallowed for trap limit as well and I think Alis cam might be next on that list yeah definitely that’s a shame that he’s trying to just get the toe off the back of Edmonson but he’s got no chance that that fn2 with the rear Beam on it compared to the ep3 independent rear suspension I don’t think it works around this track especially through the Titan twisty stuff at nicob Brook and this hering yeah absolutely and over the bumps as well the car just looks a bit more unstable now Edmonson you’re pointing out I think has caught now Sam KT Patrick his first sector 278 so that is a good couple of tenths of a second away from the good sector time campy has gone personal best sector one but maybe a dubious run through the first Corner files purple sector one though Josh files we’ve not seen him all session going quicker than everyone yeah but look what you Max edmonson’s finished that’s him done this could be this could be a massive problem because files I think’s going to get pulled because Patrick’s held him up here only needs to find a tenth of a second as Josh files his first sector is quicker than Edmonson has been we wait with baited breath for a second sector time which won’t come until he gets to this part of the circuit up at the top of Clay Hill where is car number 99 Josh fil second in the championship finally now has got a race win Max Edmonson is getting very racy with Sam C Patrick this has ruined both of their laps now so no improvements from these two it’s all about files who in the middle sector doesn’t set a personal best lapt but a 362 is respectable 362 is respectable because his first um his first sector was purple were is files he must be coming up and over uh now is he there there he no he’s been done by kite he’s caught Alex kite who is 11th fastest because Dan McDonald has jumped into the top 10 now but this has surely ruined Josh file’s lap let’s get him across the line anyway can he improve now a 35441 actually only a few hundred slower than he Haden and Dave Marshall is off Dave Marshall is off down at the Hislop chicane now if he’s off at the Hislop chicane he’s pulled off if he’s gone off at cascad that means he’s got a long way off the road uh and perhaps has got the car stuck something looked hot on the front of that car it did look a bit hot so I think he might have just stopped and I think he’ll be a bit hot into the collar as well cuz he’s only qualified 16th Dave Marshall that is not a Dave Marshall esque performance had similar issues though didn’t he at snon and he was saying to me before the first race he doesn’t usually have any time to do any pre-event testing so the first time he gets on track is for qualifying and he was very much aiming for race two at Setton to try and get into the top 10 reversed grid and then be at the front of the grid for race two that is now going to have to be his plan again here at Alton park right then Paul diving down to have a chat with our poll sitter who will be Max Edmund the championship leader Nets some more Championship points with another very very strong performance in qualifying but a bit like the TCR UK qualifying session earlier on it’s a case of what could have been for some of his challenges in particular Josh files who uh looked as though he was maybe going to improve enough to snatch that pole position away but some late traffic scuppered his chances so it’s Edmonson on pole then an area Motorsport 1 2 3 4 five and six because his teammates Josh viles Sam Patrick Liam Mill alist camp and Lewis Kent all follow him then comes the BSR Brigade Spencer Stevenson seventh hary Kon e will Redford ninth and Dan McDonald 10th to complete the top 10 for Ben Sharp racing then it was the best of the pro Alloys Runners Alex kite who perhaps is just lost his spot on Josh files Christmas card list after rather getting in the way through the final sector Jordan Brennan was 12th with Owen Hillman 13th and Jack Mell completing the top 14 and it was 15 for Daniel pets Dave Marshall a dis pointing 16th and perhaps with car troubles at the end of the session as well uh then it was jie pets where Swain and Aiden Hassan with Scott Smith completing the top 20 ahead of Mark Hughes Trevor McConnell and Gary townend who makes his Civic cup debut this weekend former TCR UK racer Gary Townsen struggling for Pace a bit in the Pro Alloys number 223 so another breathless session couple of uh red flag interruptions but we got there in the end and when we got there it was mighty exciting and mighty close you’ve got the top five five cars covered by less than half a second the top four by only 2/10 of a second so extremely extremely close at the front and that is why trap position so important especially at a circuit like Alon Park where overtaking can be at a premium so significant to try and be at the front of the field because everyone really at the front of the Civic cup pack are capable of running about the same lap times and that makes it very challenging to uh overtake people basically especially around a circuit such as this one worth referencing as well Mark Hughes and Spencer Stevenson are the highest placed cars on the grid within their class as well so Mark Hughes the Goodyear Diamond award poll position if you like notional pole position and Spencer Stevenson the poor Winfield trophy front runner after qualifying now the Civic Cup race first race is coming up in theory at 11:50 now we are of course running a little bit behind time about 20 minutes maybe behind time at the moment so that perhaps is going to get pushed to about quarter past 10 past 12 so they’ve got got an hour and a half if I’m being generous uh before that next race gets underway and of course there are a couple of cars certainly uh Harry England’s car that will need repair work to be done Harry will start from the back of the grid now having not set a lap time in the qualifying session so we are I believe just about ready to head down to Paul O’Neal let’s hear then from our poll City it’s the championship leader Max Edmonson alrighty then well that was pretty good wasn’t it miltech Sports Civic cup we loved that miltech Sports Civic cup we always like the miltech sports Civic cup Tech Sports Civic cup got the sponsor him right Max Edmonson are they fake you got the poll he’s on Army trainers they are fake are they yeah of course they’re fake po yeah surprisingly you mean surprising no not surprisingly I was fast yesterday but was faster than me a lot of people are well not a lot but Alli and Jos are faster than me alamp yeah I was expecting to be there or thereabout I wasn’t expecting to be ball it was a bit of a bit of a carry on with two red flags got me out of the Rhythm but put a DEC L BL together so I’m happy enough got a bit of a uh slight moment slight moment mate an old Hall yeah I don’t know what what is that turn one is that old Hall turn one wow yeah literally just hit the brakes and the back the rear left was just having none of it just sent me to the spirit realm so I mean if it was rear wheel drive there was no chance I was catching that you had a bit of a drama as well I think you were catching s Patrick uh I don’t know if you’re on for a better lap but I was slightly but I was like I let I let off a decent enough Gap but tour seems to be pretty strong around here so I literally drove up to him down the two stets and he trying to get out the way he wasn’t on a lap luckily but I ruined my own lap in the process but I didn’t expect to catch him that fast so one of those things but it’s poll mate I’m happy top man you’re I’m ahead of Josh I’m very happy good man it was close Josh files please come along here I have no idea don’t you worry about it get your cap we doing a swappy cap are we is this the signed one I gave to you yesterday he give you the pole cap did I very nice you near you nearly had you nearly at the pole mate very close um that last lap you just got held up didn’t you I did yeah um I know it was a good lap um because on my quickest lap before I messed up at drewis I went in way too hot and somehow came out the other end um so I know I just need to sort that out for a couple of TS um sorted it out but unfortunately one of the pro Alloys cars was like literally on the Apex the last corner so it lost everything I’ve gained but it is what it is you know Max did a good time um even with a kiss of the Tire St by looks of it and uh um I’ll I’ll give him a hard time in the race don’t you worry Hey listen was it was the car very lurry cuz Max had a massive moment through the first corner but drew it the car looked like proper four-wheel drift yeah I mean we’ve got them set up quite similar now he’s come towards me um I think maybe they are a bit too loose Lewis Lewis’s car was a bit loose yesterday so we we do that back a bit um but it’ll be good for the race that’s what we need it was probably a bit too much for qual but nevertheless we’ll uh we’ll race well top work um it’s drizzling now mate were you looking forward to a wet race or dry well I was hoping it was going to be wet then so I was well gutted when it DED out but uh yeah we’ll see I don’t know I’ve never driven them on in the rain so could be fun oh wow well we’ll look out for that then well done anyway fell brilliant stuff right let’s go and look for P3 I think he’s just going back actually this has been a bit of a nightmare I’ll be honest Le is actually leaving his awning which is a bit of a nightmare so let’s let’s not worry about him let’s go and see if we can find Mark Hughes who is not been called through yet is his car around have a look car uh we’ll keep looking for right let’s speak to mark The Good Year Diamond Trophy award um all good with you Captain you got to be happy with that yeah call for you I’m happy I didn’t know that but yeah great well well listen we not to be disrespectful we’ll cut that short we just got some racing out there so I’m going to throw back to and you’re welcome thank you cheers thank you Paul uh yes we will have uh more action from the miltech sports Civic cup a little bit later on and their first race coming up as I said scheduled to start at around about 11:50 uh but uh it is likely to be pushed back a little bit later than that a reminder that we will have separate streams for the races later on uh or a separate stream anyway for the races later on today so this stream about to end tune in for the races a little bit later on in the day the first one due to start at about 10 to 12 but maybe push back a little bit right then we all need to go and catch our breath after a pair of very exciting qualifying sessions here at Alton Park we’ll be back with racing action later on today [Music] [Music]
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