Dan Zelos was overjoyed to claim his maiden Renault UK Clio Cup pole position after setting a new qualifying record around the sweeps of Donington Park.
'I'm cock-a-hoop with that one,' said the 18-year-old from Dereham. 'I got off to a good start to the season at Brands Hatch with WDE Motorsport, but finally now it's all come together.
'A lot of it was in the timing and I managed to get a tow off another quick driver in front of me. The slipstream effect certainly helped, but everyone was up to the same thing. We've got genuine pace.'
However, Zelos' starting abilities deserted him at the critical moment when the starting lights flashed off and he was swamped by the raging pack behind.
The only fortunate result of the poor starts was that the Evergreen Tyres-supported car was not caught up in the ensuing first-corner accidents which halted the race.
Zelos took the restart from the pit lane, having incurred a front left puncture in the melee, and fought his way to 12th place, posting the fastest race lap in his category.
The Norwich art student started race two from third on the grid and claimed his best ever race result in the series with a fifth place which leaves him just three points off fifth place in the series.
'Looking forward we can go to Thruxton now with a lot of confidence,' added Zelos. 'It's my favourite track on the calendar.'
Norwich's Shawn Taylor made his first starts in the Renault UK Clio Cup at the Leicestershire circuit, claiming 16th in the opening encounter and then 19th, having been delayed by a spin.
Harry Webb produced his best British F4 Championship results with three stirring performances at Donington Park, narrowly missing out on the podium place in the second race.
'I don't think a podium finish is far away,' predicted Webb. 'I'm happy with how I performed this weekend and with more time in the car and more experience we are only going to get quicker.'
Race one had seen the Topcroft racer take seventh place, having started the event from eighth, while race three was halted after an horrific-looking accident which befell Billy Monger with Webb taking fifth place after starting the race in 11th place.
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