Gordon Shedden secures race two pole with fastest lap

Gordon Shedden will start race two from pole position after setting the fastest race lap in race one at Rockingham, with Adam Morgan joining him on the front row.

The Honda Yuasa Racing driver took second behind Mat Jackson, but set the fastest time on lap four of 16. Shedden only narrowly took the race two pole, with both Adam Morgan’s Ciceley Racing Mercedes A-Class and Jackson’s Ford Focus just 0.040 and 0.045 seconds behind respectively.

The biggest mover for the race two grid was Jeff Smith, who, while running the soft tyre, pitted after the green flag lap to cross the tyres and go for a fast time. The plan paid off for the Eurotech Honda Civic driver, setting the fifth fastest time despite finishing in a lowly 25th position.

Hunter Abbott and Rob Austin also dropped back at the start, with Abbott choosing to start from the pitlane, while Austin took the start from the grid. Both drivers had a difficult race, Austin finishing in 19th and Abbott having to settle for 23rd, but they managed to qualify in 7th and 9th respectively for race two.

Jason Plato, who suffered suspension damage on the first lap, managed to set a time good enough for 12th for race two after losing two laps in the pit lane while the team made vital repairs.