Michelin Clio Cup Series rookie Ronan Pearson led Westbourne Motorsport’s challenge for pole position during qualifying ahead of the season opener at Silverstone this weekend [24-25 March].
Junior Saloon Car Championship graduate Pearson traded times at the top of the time sheets with defending champion Ben Palmer, SFR’s Simon Freeman and Westbourne team-mate Ben Colburn, lining up with the latter on the second row after clocking a best time of 1:10.905s around the 1.6 mile circuit.
His second quickest effort, a 1:10.947s, means he will start the final race of the weekend alongside Palmer on the front row, with the Worthing-based outfit placed strongly to challenge for silverware throughout the field.
Colburn, back for a third successive season with the team, will look to utilise his experience to move forward from fourth on the grid in both contests.
Westbourne’s other Race Series entrants – Dutch racer Tony Verhulst and Road Series graduate Finlay Robinson, the latter sporting an eye-catching new livery with the backing of Vantage Motor Group and GardX Protection – will line up seventh and eighth after making progressive improvements throughout the session in difficult conditions.
In the Road Series, Sean Thomas spent the session trading times with defending class champion Nic Harrison and MRM’s James Joannou in his new-for-2018 machine and was unlucky to end up third, particularly given the slender gaps between all three’s second fastest times.
Thomas will line up alongside Darren Geeraerts, who continued his development curve in the race-converted Renaultsport Clio 200 model with a 1:21.854.
Ronan Pearson said, “At the start of the session the track conditions were ideal for the tyres, and I set my best time during that window. It was really enjoyable and it was only my second time in that car and to start the final race tomorrow from second on the grid makes it even better.”
Ben Colburn said, “I’d have liked to have been slightly higher up the grid but we can work our way forwards from this position. It’s been a long winter so I’m keen to get racing underway, the mindset this season is not only to achieve greater consistency, but to consistently be running at the front as well.”