JOHN INGRAM on a private BMW S1000RR took an impressive pole position in tricky conditions at Mallory Park for tomorrow’s Buildbase Race of the Year, beating a host of British and World Supersport regulars. The wet morning qualification was topped by James Ellison on his Bogdanka PTR Honda Fireblade. That time set on wet tyres kept him in fifth place as he did not improve in the afternoon session that started damp but dried towards the end. Ingram, a race winner in the Buildbase Mallory Trophy series, showed real quality to take pole, switching to slicks with minutes to go. He will be a force to be reckoned with in the race, whether wet or dry. Ingram said: “That’ll do us. It is not what we expected but it is what we came for. The track conditions were difficult and we went out on wet tyres and changed to slicks for the last three laps and managed to take pole. Our game plan was to see what the grip was like and switch to slicks and it worked. “To finish on the podium here would be great tomorrow, I need to keep my expectations real. The forecast is dry but maybe some showers so it could be a very interesting race.” Pre-race favourite Sam Lowes on the Parkalgar Honda did not go out in the morning session and did not risk anything in the afternoon, taking a safe fourth. He said: “The track conditions were difficult with it damp and drying – you just didn’t know how hard you could push. I rode safely to take fourth and that’s good enough for me – there are no prizes for today.” Mallory Park General Manager John Ward said: “That was an exciting qualification in difficult conditions that threw up a bit of a surprise but very well earned pole position. The question is can John hold off the raft of British and World Supersport racers behind him on the grid – can the 1000cc bikes beat the 600s? I can’t wait to find out tomorrow.” Tickets for tomorrow’s Buildbase Race of the Year cost £15 on the day for race day Sunday 26th June. Under 16s are free of charge accompanied by paying adult ticket holders. For more information please visit www.mallorypark.co.uk or call on 01455 842931. Mallory Park, the Friendly Circuit, is situated in the heart of the midlands in Leicestershire just off the A47 between Leicester and Hinckley and easily accessible from the M1, M69 or M6. For further directions, please visit www.mallorypark.co.uk. QUALIFICATION TIMES 1: John Ingram 56.142 2: Luke Stapleford 56.272 3: Christian Iddon 56.404 4: Sam Lowes 56.417 5: James Ellison 56.456 6: Billy McConnell 56.854