Second in the championship Aaron Mason took pole position to start the final Milltek Sport VW Racing Cup weekend of the 2015 season, giving him the early advantage over leader David Sutton.
AWM Motorsport driver Mason appeared to be struggling in the session, failing to make it into the top ten before the session was suspended after Laura Tillett spun herself into the Old Hairpin gravel. However late in the session he leapt into pole position ahead of Robert Barrable, the Irishman 0.277 slower despite having paced the session.
He briefly took provisional pole after the first flying laps of the 20 minute session, but found his 1:45.019 one of the many times that was quickly deleted by the stewards as punishment for exceeding the limits around the 2.5 mile Grand Prix layout of the Midlands track. Nevertheless with the very next lap Barrable went faster – legally this time – setting the 1:44.028 that would be only be toppled by Mason in the closing stages.
Bobby Thompson was third fastest, two hundredths slower than Barrable’s best with Howard Fuller fourth ahead of Sutton, who starts the Donington double header with an 18 point advantage, once the dropped scores each driver needs to take are factored into the standings. Without those dropped scores only four markers separate the pair.
Both Fuller and Sutton jumped ahead of Phil House in the final two minutes. Jack Walker-Tully and Michael Epps – both race winners this season – will fill the fourth row for the first race of the weekend. Simon Rudd and Damani Marcano complete the top ten for the opening race, scheduled for 10:35 Sunday morning. The top six in the finishing order from the opening race are then reversed to form the front of the grid for the second race that closes the meeting.