Reigning champion Andrew Jordan continued where he left off last season by securing the first British Touring Car Championship of the season.
Jordan’s 48.228s was a tenth-and-a-half faster than the time with which he claimed pole last year, and it came with less than five minutes of the session remaining to topple pace-setter Jason Plato.
As we’ve come to expect, the early stages of qualifying were dominated by the rear-wheel powered cars, with Colin Turkington and Rob Austin setting the pace in the first ten minutes.
Things quickly change however, with Neal joining in on the act in his Civic Tourer before Plato and Jordan decided to make their mark on the order.
Plato’s looked to be in control for the third time on the day, but his ability to sit in the pits in the first two sessions did not pay dividends for him in qualifying, as he finished a meager twelve-hundredths behind the pole time.
Turkington leapt into third place in the closing stages, to move the quiet but comfortable Neal into fourth ahead of his Honda teammate Shedden.
Tom Ingram followed up his remarkable sixth place in practice two by sealing that grid slot for his first British Touring Car Championship event. Even a wobble on the exit of Paddock Hill bend could not spoil what was an incredible debut for the 20-year-old, who outqualified the likes of Aron Smith, Alain Menu, Mat Jackson and Rob Collard.
The times were once again incredibly tight, with 11th-placed Rob Austin 0.260s away from pole, and the first 23 drivers within a second of Jordan’s ultimate lap.
Unlike in the practice sessions, there were no stoppages, although Jack Clarke had a moment in his Crabbies Racing Ford Focus while Rob Collard – who put in one of his most impressive qualifying showings for some time – was hit by Ollie Jackson in the Proton.
While six of the series’ champions had a successful outing in qualifying, the same could not be said for Fabrizio Giovanardi, who qualified in 18th, a full nine places and four-tenths-of-a-second behind his teammate Mat Jackson.
Top ten times
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 1 | I | Andrew JORDAN |  |
Pirtek Racing | Honda Civic | 21 | 48.228 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 99 | M | Jason PLATO | |
MG KX Clubcard Fuelsave | MG6 | 24 | 48.24 | 0.012 |
| 3 | 5 | I | Colin TURKINGTON | |
eBay Motors | BMW 125i M Sport | 26 | 48.298 | 0.070 |
| 4 | 4 | M | Matt NEAL | |
Honda Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Tourer | 27 | 48.321 | 0.093 |
| 5 | 52 | M | Gordon SHEDDEN | |
Honda Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Tourer | 27 | 48.371 | 0.143 |
| 6 | 80 | I | Tom INGRAM | |
Speedworks Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 27 | 48.404 | 0.176 |
| 7 | 40 | I | Árón SMITH |  |
CHROME Edition Restart Racing | Volkswagen Passat CC | 24 | 48.419 | 0.191 |
| 8 | 9 | I | Alain MENU |  |
CHROME Edition Restart Racing | Volkswagen Passat CC | 21 | 48.447 | 0.219 |
| 9 | 6 | I | Mat JACKSON | |
Airwaves Racing | Ford Focus | 29 | 48.479 | 0.251 |
| 10 | 10 | I | Rob COLLARD | |
eBay Motors | BMW 125i M Sport | 30 | 48.487 | 0.259 |