Jason Plato heads MG 1-2 at Brands as Neal crashes

Triple Eight MG’s Jason Plato and Sam Tordoff locked out the front row in dominant fashion in the final qualifying session of the year at Brands Hatch, while championship contender Matt Neal suffered a big shunt.

Plato and Tordoff were separated by just 0.036s, with points leader Andrew Jordan taking third in his Eurotech Racing Honda Civic, 0.372 down on the pole time.

Plato’s time was a new qualifying lap record, and he was confident enough in it that he parked his car in the pits for the final minutes of the session.

In the championship race, Jordan’s performance leaves him in an excellent position as he looks to secure the title tomorrow, but the same could not be said for Honda Racing Team’s Neal.

The closest rival to Jordan in the standings lost the car on the exit of Paddock Hill halfway through the session, and speared into the barriers on the inside of the track.

The accident caused significant front end damage to his Honda Civic, ripping off its left front wheel, but Neal was able to get out of the car unaided. He was seen checking his injured hand on the in-car camera, but did not look to be in any discomfort.

Behind the top three, fellow title contenders Gordon Shedden and Colin Turkington secured fourth and sixth on the grid respectively, split by the excellent Adam Morgan in the Ciceley Racing Toyota Avensis.

The top 10 was completed by Tom Onslow-Cole, Frank Wrathall, Rob Collard and the impressive Jake Hill, who was 0.4s quicker than Rob Austin in his first outing in the Audi A4.

There were incidents aplenty in the 30-minute session.

Neal’s crash brought out the red flags, while Speedworks Motorsport’s Dave Newsham had spins at Paddock Hill and Stirlings on the way to 11th on the grid.

Collard also had two spins, while Wrathall lost it on the entry to Surtees after dropping a wheel of his Dynojet Toyota Avensis onto the grass. Ollie Jackson and Turkington also had off-track excursions at Sheene Curve.

There was another Jack Sears Trophy pole for Lea Wood, who qualified 19th overall in the JWT Performance Vauxhall Vectra, with Liam Griffin 22nd and Shaun Hollamby 24th.

Motorbase Performance’s Aron Smith did not take part in the session, following his accident in second practice.

The first of tomorrow’s three crucial races is at 11:32 BST.