Audi factory young gun Kelvin van der Linde claimed provisional pole on his Australian GT Championship debut at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.
The South African topped a hotly contested opening qualifying session at the Adelaide Parklands circuit in the #74 Jamec Pem Racing Audi R8.
Van der Linde, who will partner the returning Geoff Emery, surged to the top of the time sheets with a 1:20.45s in the final stages of the 20 minute session.
The grid is determined by the fastest times posted from the two 20 minute sessions with the final session scheduled for later this afternoon.
Former Supercars full-timer Ash Walsh emerged as van der Linde’s nearest rival with the Queenslander 0.35s shy in the #44 Audi R8, he is sharing with James Koundouris.
Walsh was among a group of drivers including Nathan Antunes (#5 Audi) and Come Ledogar (#59 McLaren) who enjoyed brief spells at the top the time sheets.
Antunes ensured the top three positions were filled by Audis after ending the session a tenth further back from Walsh.
Works McLaren driver Ledogar was fourth in the 650S, he is driving with Fraser Ross, while Dean Canto was fifth despite a wild spin at Turn 1 in the Trofeo Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan.
The top 10 was completed by Craig Baird (#222 STM Mercedes), Tim Macrow (#7 Lamborghini), Roger Lago (#23 Lago Racing Lamborghini), Steve Richards (Team SRM BMW) and Glen Wood (#48 Lamborghini).
The Tony Quinn McLaren 650S sat out the session after sustaining damage in practice.
The final Australian GT qualifying session is scheduled for 1645 local time.
Result: Australian GT Qualifying 1
| 1 | Valvoline | Kelvin van der Linde | Audi R8 LMS | 1:20.45 | |
| 2 | Supabarn Supermarkets | Ash Walsh (QLD) | Audi R8 LMS | 1:20.80 | 00.35 |
| 3 | GT Motorsport | Nathan Antunes (NSW) | Audi R8 LMS | 1:21.07 | 00.62 |
| 4 | Tekno | Come Ledogar (FRA) | McLaren 650S GT3 | 1:21.19 | 00.73 |
| 5 | Haemokinesis/Pire | Dean Canto (SA) | Lamborghini Huracan | 1:21.44 | 00.98 |
| 6 | Scott Taylor Motorsport | Craig Baird (Qld) | Mercedes Benz AMG GT | 1:21.45 | 01.00 |
| 7 | Bank SA | Tim Macrow (VIC) | Lamborghini R-EX | 1:21.56 | 01.10 |
| 8 | JBS Australia | Roger Lago (Qld) | Lamborghini R-EX | 1:22.06 | 01.61 |
| 9 | BMW Team SRM | Steve Richards (Vic) | BMW M6 GT3 | 1:22.07 | 01.62 |
| 10 | Interlloy M Motorsport | Glen Wood (Vic) | Lamborghini R-EX | 1:22.50 | 02.05 |
| 11 | Moveitnet/AFS | Tony Bates (VIC) | Mercedes AMG GTS GT3 | 1:22.74 | 02.29 |
| 12 | HHH Triffid Racing | Daniel Jilesen (NZ) | Lamborghini R-EX | 1:22.83 | 02.38 |
| 13 | Mega Racing | Liam Talbot (Qld) | Porsche 911 GT3-R | 1:22.83 | 02.38 |
| 14 | PM Motorsport | Peter Major (WA) | Lamborghini R-EX | 1:23.53 | 03.08 |
| 15 | Ah Apartments | Ash Samadi (VIC) | Audi R8 LMS | 1:23.71 | 03.26 |
| 16 | Objective Racing | Tony Walls (NSW) | McLaren 650S GT3 | 1:23.99 | 03.53 |
| 17 | Australian Engineered Flooring | Max Twigg (Vic) | Mercedes Benz AMG GT | 1:24.24 | 03.79 |
| 18 | Hogs Breath Cafe/Griffith Co | Mark Griffith (Qld) | Mercedes Benz AMG GT | 1:24.38 | 03.92 |
| 19 | Valvoline | Steven McLaughlan (Vic) | Audi R8 LMS | 1:24.62 | 04.16 |
| 20 | Hallmarc Constructions | Marc Cini (Vic) | Audi R8 LMS | 1:24.80 | 04.35 |
| 21 | Hungry Jacks | Tim Miles (NSW) | Lamborghini R-EX | 1:25.03 | 04.58 |
| 22 | AMAC Motorsport | Andrew MacPherson (NSW) | Porsche 997 GT3-R | 1:27.00 | 06.55 |
| 23 | The Bend Motorsport Park | Yasser Shahin (SA) | Lamborghini R-EX | 1:27.24 | 06.78 |
| 24 | Shoal/Thomson Geer Lawyers | Michael O’Donnell (SA) | Porsche GT3 Cup | 1:32.55 | 12.10 |
| EXC | Veloce Motorsport – ULX110 | Keith Wong (SA) | Porsche GT3 Cup |
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