James Dorlin has got the 2016 Michelin Clio Cup Series season finale off to a perfect start with a double pole position at Silverstone.
As soon as flying laps came in during the twenty minute session, it was Dorlin who established himself at the top of the timesheets in his Westbourne Motorsport Clio, eventually posting a best effort of 1m 15.513s.
Dorlin’s team-mate Sam Randon qualified alongside him on the front row for the opening race, with title contender Brett Lidsey left to settle for third and second for the two encounters.
With Dorlin needing merely to finish ahead of Lidsey in the opener to win the title with one race to spare, having his team-mate as a rear gunner could prove crucial.
Randon has a battle of his own however over third in the points, with a pair of top three starts giving him the upper hand over Luke Pinder, who finished up fifth and fourth overall in his third-gen Clio.
Pinder traded positions with Ben Palmer for the two encounters, whilst completing the top six for both was Tom Barley, the last man within a second of the pole position time.
In the Road category, Nic Harrison secured a double class pole position ahead of his title rival Jack Fabby, with Damian Hirst and newcomer Nick White third for races one and two respectively.
Full qualifying results can be found here.
