Qualifying for the British Touring Car Championship at Croft has been red-flagged after a multi-car accident which included Jeff Smith and Luke Davenport needing to be cut free from their cars.
The session, which took place in wet and rainy conditions, lasted just nine minutes of competitive running before the red flags flew.
The shunt which caused the stoppage began when Motorbase driver Davenport went straight on at the Jim Clark Esses, seemingly on fluid dropped either by his own or another car.
Davenport appeared to spear straight into the barriers, and a number of other drivers then followed him off the circuit at high speed, including Andrew Jordan, Árón Taylor-Smith, Jeff Smith, Ant Whorton-Eales, Ollie Jackson, Ash Sutton, Jack Goff, Stephen Jelley and Adam Morgan.
Both Davenport and Smith needed to be cut free from their cars, whilst Taylor-Smith was briefly knocked unconscious in the accident. Taylor-Smith was taken to the circuit medical centre, whilst Smith and Davenport were taken to hospital by medical helicopter.
Taylor-Smith was subsequently taken to the James Cook University Hospital along with Davenport and Smith.
The force of the crash was reportedly so severe that the seat in Taylor-Smith’s MG was moved.
The session was red-flagged for over an hour, before the session was declared a result after just nine minutes of competitive running.
The result sees Subaru’s Sutton claim pole, despite being himself involved in the accident that saw considerable damage caused to his Levorg.
Team BMW’s Colin Turkington ended up in second, ahead of Motorbase’s Mat Jackson in third.
None of the injuries are reported to be life threatening.
Due to the damage to Smith and Davenport’s car requiring them to be cut free, the cars have been written off and can not be repaired. All three entries have been withdrawn from the meeting.
Qualifying times
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 116 | M | Ashley SUTTON |  |
Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | 3 | 1:33.182 | |
| 2 | 4 | M | Colin TURKINGTON | |
Team BMW | BMW 125i M Sport | 3 | 1:33.743 | 0.561 |
| 3 | 3 | Mat JACKSON | |
Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo | Ford Focus | 3 | 1:33.786 | 0.604 | |
| 4 | 52 | M | Gordon SHEDDEN | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 2 | 1:33.808 | 0.626 |
| 5 | 66 | Josh COOK | |
MG Racing RCIB Insurance | MG6GT | 3 | 1:33.904 | 0.722 | |
| 6 | 40 | M | Árón TAYLOR-SMITH |  |
MG Racing RCIB Insurance | MG6GT | 2 | 1:33.989 | 0.807 |
| 7 | 99 | M | Jason PLATO | |
Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | 3 | 1:34.011 | 0.829 |
| 8 | 25 | M | Matt NEAL | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 4 | 1:34.077 | 0.895 |
| 9 | 28 | M | Josh PRICE | |
BMR Racing Academy | Subaru Levorg GT | 3 | 1:34.086 | 0.904 |
| 10 | 20 | M | James COLE | |
Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | 3 | 1:34.184 | 1.002 |
| 11 | 55 | Jeff SMITH | |
Eurotech Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 2 | 1:34.245 | 1.063 | |
| 12 | 2 | M | Tom CHILTON | |
Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 2 | 1:34.293 | 1.111 |
| 13 | 5 | M | Rob COLLARD | |
Team BMW | BMW 125i M Sport | 3 | 1:34.317 | 1.135 |
| 14 | 77 | M | Andrew JORDAN | |
BMW Pirtek Racing | BMW 125i M Sport | 3 | 1:34.379 | 1.197 |
| 15 | 80 | Tom INGRAM | |
Speedworks Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 3 | 1:34.397 | 1.215 | |
| 16 | 7 | Stephen JELLEY | |
Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport | Ford Focus | 3 | 1:34.870 | 1.688 | |
| 17 | 18 | M | Senna PROCTOR | |
Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 2 | 1:34.875 | 1.693 |
| 18 | 24 | Jake HILL | |
TAG Racing | Volkswagen CC | 3 | 1:34.953 | 1.771 | |
| 19 | 11 | Rob AUSTIN | |
Handy Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 3 | 1:35.098 | 1.916 | |
| 20 | 61 | Will BURNS | |
Autoaid / RCIB Insurance Racing | Volkswagen CC | 3 | 1:35.110 | 1.928 | |
| 21 | 48 | Ollie JACKSON | |
AmDtuning.com with CobraExhausts | Audi S3 | 3 | 1:35.181 | 1.999 | |
| 22 | 12 | Mike EPPS | |
Autoaid / RCIB Insurance Racing | Volkswagen CC | 3 | 1:35.334 | 2.152 | |
| 23 | 303 | M | Matt SIMPSON | |
Simpson Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 4 | 1:35.514 | 2.332 |
| 24 | 95 | Dennis STRANDBERG |  |
Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport | Ford Focus | 3 | 1:35.689 | 2.507 | |
| 25 | 33 | Adam MORGAN | |
Ciceley Motorsport | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 3 | 1:35.875 | 2.693 | |
| 26 | 10 | Ant WHORTON-EALES | |
AmDtuning.com with CobraExhausts | Audi S3 | 3 | 1:35.978 | 2.796 | |
| 27 | 30 | Martin DEPPER | |
Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo | Ford Focus | 3 | 1:37.681 | 4.499 | |
| 28 | 31 | Jack GOFF | |
Eurotech Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 2 | No time | N/A | |
| 29 | 300 | Luke DAVENPORT | |
Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo | Ford Focus | 1 | No time | N/A | |
| 30 | 17 | David NEWSHAM | |
BTC Norlin Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | 1 | No time | N/A | |
| 31 | 22 | Chris SMILEY | |
BTC Norlin Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | 1 | No time | N/A | |
| 32 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | |
Laser Tools Racing | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 0 | No time | N/A |