Mike Bushell has topped the timesheets by over half a second in Renault UK Clio Cup qualifying at Thruxton, his sublime performance earning him pole position for both races this weekend.
Returning to the scene of his maiden Clio Cup victory two years ago, the former champion was the star of the show as he lapped the high-speed 2.3 mile circuit in 1m 23.137s.
That put him on pole position for the opening race by half a second, an advantage remarkably almost doubled when second best times are taken into account for race two.
Bushell’s closest competition came from two of his championship rivals, with Lee Pattison and Paul Rivett set to line up on the front row of the grid for races one and two respectively.
Neither driver could string together two quick lap times though, with Rivett only in eighth for the opener, and Pattison down tenth for the second encounter.
Two surprise names will line up on the second row of the grid for race one, with the impressive Josh Price and Paul Plant both finishing within eight tenths of a second of Bushell’s best – Price taking third for both races.
Ant Whorton-Eales and Dan Zelos round out the top six on the grid for race one, with them both a position higher for race two as they aim to bounce back from various dramas at Donington Park.
On his one-off return to the championship, Jake Giddings secured a pair of sixth row starts, while lower than hoped was Max Coates, the Donington pole-sitter only 14th at best.
Full qualifying results can be found here.
