Nicolas Taylor has qualified in the top 12 for the first time on his fourth attempt, after a mixed conditions qualifying session, putting his PMA Motorsport Audi sixth on the grid for this afternoon’s first race.

With track limits a key concern for all drivers this weekend, it was critical to stay on track and set a competitive time, with Taylor’s first lap proving strong enough to keep him in the top 12 and to progress into Q2, before his next time put him sixth for the first race today.

“It’s a bit of a relief,” said Taylor. “There was a bit of pressure from the team to get into Q2, and all my previous exits through Q1 were due to track limits, so they were really pressing me to stay on the track. So I did that, stayed on the track, laid down a good enough to keep me P9 in Q1. I was definitely quite conservative on my lap anyways.

“In Q2, we set one lap on used tyres and planned to come in for new tyres, but then it started to rain. Still, P6 is really good, and then with the inversion for Race 2 I’ll be P5, so I’m pretty happy.”