Rydell fights to feature pole.

Rickard Rydell vaulted back from his nightmare Oulton Park weekend to secure pole position for round 12 of the British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone. The Swedish driver had to contend with an unusually crowded track and bodywork which seemed intent on detaching itself to beat his Ford team-mate Anthony Reid to top spot.

"There was traffic on all my runs, which has not been a problem before in this season," said the driver who also had a bumper come flying off during one of his flying laps. Rydell was at a loss to explain why the bumper came adrift as he didn't hit anything, "The bumper just came loose on its own," he pondered.

Reid continued his consistent form in the series with a fine front row start, complete with 20kg of ballast. Championship leader Alain Menu in the third Ford entry will start seventh.

Will Hoy made an impressive return to the series qualifying his Class B Peugeot 306 tenth, fastest of the baby class machinery.

Full report and times to follow.

1. Rickard Rydell Ford 1:23.125 secs.
2. Anthony Reid Ford 1:23.313 secs.
3. Jason Plato Vauxhall 1:23.416 secs.
4. Yvan Muller Vauxhall 1:23.458 secs.
5. James Thompson Honda 1:23.554 secs.
6. Tom Kristensen Honda 1:23.617 secs.
7. Alain Menu Ford 1:23.630 secs.
8. Vincent Radermecker Vauxhall 1:23.685 secs.
9. Colin Blair Nissan (I) 1:28.137 secs.
10. Will Hoy Peugeot (B) 1:32.031 secs.