Scott McLaughlin continued his fine form in the first official qualifying session of the 2017 season when he set time two tenths faster than his earlier practice time halfway through the twenty minute session.
His DJR Team Penske Ford stayed at the top of the leaderboard as one after another his rivals attempted to beat his time, all to no avail until the final minute when Shane van Gisbergen took pole by on ten thousandth of a second!
James Courtney came close as his Mobil HSV also went into the 1:19’s to go second quickest, but he didn’t stay there and ended the session sixth.
David Reynolds door flew open on his flying lap, skimming the wall but thankfully no damage was done as he secured tenth place overall.
Craig Lowndes’ woes continued and the Supercar veteran was only 15th fastest with 5 minutes remaining in the session. Jamie Whincup was also way down the order as he came out for his final laps, jumping up from 22nd place to 3rd as Rick Kelly looked on track for top spot, but took third place instead.
Lowndes moved up to tenth but was knocked back to 13th by the time the session came to a close.
The top ten shootout will take place here tomorrow.
Top ten:
1: Shane Van Gisbergen
2: Scott McLaughlin
3: Rick Kelly
4: Chaz Mostert
5: Fabian Coulthard
6: James Courtney
7: Jamie Whincup
8: Mark Winterbottom
9: Cameron Waters
10: David Reynolds
