Motorbase Performance's Mat Jackson will have to fight his way through from 18th on the grid in race one in order to remain in contention of this season's British Touring Car Championship at the Brands Hatch finale.

Having finished second in both of yesterday's free practice sessions, Jackson looked a likely contender to challenge for pole position come qualifying, but his hopes were scuppered after the differential of his Ford Focus ST failed early on in the 30-minute shootout.

That meant Jackson could fare no better than 20th but has at least moved up a position to 18th, as virtue of Tom Ingram's qualifying exclusion.

Needing to produce a herculean charge up the order, Jackson isn't writing his hopes off just yet and vows to attack the final three races with 'all guns blazing'.

"It was one of those days. We had problems with the car and we knew that from the first lap in qualifying. It's bitten us but it's not over yet. A lot can happen so we've just got to go in all guns blazing," Jackson told Crash.net.

"We had a problem with the differential, it seemed to fail. It's put us on the back foot but it is what it is.

"We were high up early on but that was more because not everyone got their lap in before the rain. We can't do anymore. That's the final qualifying and that's the position we've got. We've just got to do what we can do."

Although frustrated by the technical gremlins, Jackson took some solace from the fact that the issue struck him in qualifying rather than the race.

"The car has been really strong in the wet and I think it would have been the same story in the dry. At least the problem occurred in qualifying, rather than race day. We needed to be in the top-two rows and it's a blow."