Erebus Motorsport’s Will Brown and Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Broc Feeney have split the Sunday pole positions at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint.
Brown pipped Grove Racing’s David Reynolds by only 0.0404s in Qualifying for Race 8 at Wanneroo Raceway in setting a 0:54.2450s, when Feeney could only claim 21st on the grid.
The latter hit back in Qualifying for Race 9 of the Repco Supercars Championship, but his team-mate Shane van Gisbergen only earned 21st on the grid in that session, after claiming ninth in the preceding session.
Qualifying for Race 8
Tim Slade (#23 Nulon Camaro) set the early pace in Qualifying for Race 8 with a 0:55.3696s on his first flyer, before he was usurped by Triple Eight duo van Gisbergen (#97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) on a 0:54.8512s and Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) on a 0:54.8574s.
A number of drivers sat out the opening minutes or went for install runs only, Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang) among them, but he would jump to the top with a 0:54.6379s halfway into the quarter-hour, with Brown moving to second on a 0:54.6612s.
Matters started to seriously heat up when van Gisbergen was among the first to go for his final run.
He ran wide at Turn 7 in setting a 0:54.6872s which only lifted Car #97 back up five positions to third, but was on provisional pole again when he set a 0:54.4383s on his second lap of the run.
However, Dick Johnson Racing team-mates Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang) and then De Pasquale moved into top spot on a 0:54.4356s and 0:54.3999s.
When the rest of the field rolled out for their final shots, Reynolds (#26 Penrite Mustang) jumped up to first position on a 0:54.2854s in the final minute but Brown (#9 Coca-Cola Camaro) had just a little bit more, edging his former stablemate by 0.0404s just before the chequered flag.
They will thus share the front row, with De Pasquale third on the grid and Brodie Kostecki (#99 Coca-Cola Camaro) fourth having gone as quick as a 0:54.4074s.
James Courtney (#5 Snowy River Caravans Mustang) claimed fifth, from Chaz Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang), Davison, and Matt Payne (#19 Penrite Mustang).
Van Gisbergen was shuffled back to ninth, with Slade 10th, then Todd Hazelwood (#3 CoolDrive Mustang), Bryce Fullwood (#14 Middy’s Camaro), Jack Le Brocq (#34 Truck Assist Camaro), Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro), Cameron Waters (#6 Monster Energy Mustang), and Nick Percat (#88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro), while Feeney ended up 21st.
Full Race 8 Qualifying results here.
Qualifying for Race 9
A dozen drivers went out in search of an early lap time when Qualifying for Race 9 began, with Slade once again fastest of them, on a 0:54.3714s.
Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang) did not set a time on that run, with timing indicating a breach of track limits, but then took up second place with a 0:54.4220s on his second run.
Both he and Slade would be usurped when Reynolds set a 0:54.3035s at the halfway mark of the session, before Feeney clocked a new fastest lap of the weekend, a 0:54.1828s.
Feeney hopped out of the car with three minutes still left in the session and that would indeed be the best pace of the morning.
Kostecki subsequently took up second on a 0:54.2652s with Brown third on a 0:54.3013s, from Reynolds, Davison, Slade, Mostert, Randle, Waters, and Percat.
Van Gisbergen, however, could only managed 21st on the grid on a 0:54.6616s.
Full Race 9 Qualifying results here.
Race 8, a 42-lapper, starts at 11:45 local time/13:45 AEST.