Aron Smith feeling good despite qualifying shunt

Aron Smith says he is feeling fine after his sizeable shunt in qualifying – and joked that he has been crashing things since the age of four.

The Motorbase Performance man hit the barriers after losing control at Riches in his Ford Focus, but not before setting a time which was good enough for a season’s best sixth on the grid.

Smith said he was 100 per cent certain to race tomorrow, and is confident he can capitalise on the Kent team’s strongest showing of the year to date.

An upbeat Smith told TouringCarTimes: “It was a smidge of an impact – I was going a little quick at that point! But I’m feeling fine – as good as ever really.

“It’s a shame, because it’s really the first time we have had a car to challenge at the very front, so to end qualifying like that is very disappointing.

“The car is a bit second hand now, and it’s going to be a late night for the guys. I will be bringing some bags of buttons tomorrow morning to say sorry!

“I really only did one flying lap, but that put us sixth. There are a few silver linings – the pace is unbelievably good, and because I was sat in the barrier I’ve used no tyres, so I’ve got really good tyres for tomorrow’s race.

“You have to extract whatever positives you can, and I think we should be in good shape for tomorrow. If I can move forward and get three solid results, I will be over the moon.”

Asked how he deals with the aftermath of an accident, Smith said: “I’ve been in this position many a time – I’ve grown up crashing things! That’s all I’ve done from the age of four.

“I’ll forget about it by the time I go to bed. I will probably be a bit sore on Monday morning, but I’ll be fine.”