Fabian Coulthard achieved a third straight pole position before Jamie Whincup broke the DJR Team Penske stranglehold in qualifying for Supercars Races 3 and 4 at Albert Park.

Whincup split the DJRTP Falcons in Qualifying for Race 3 before snapping Coulthard’s pole streak.

Shane van Gisbergen will start Race 3 from second-last after an off, while his Triple Eight team-mate is mired deep in the field for both Races 3 and 4.

Qualifying for Race 3

Fabian Coulthard topped the session by 0.4s, while Jamie Whincup split the DJR Team Penske Falcons.

The three Triple Eight Cars completed an installation lap before Whincup set a time late in the 10-minute session, bumping Scott McLaughlin to third.

Chaz Mostert, James Courtney, and David Reynolds, filled fourth through sixth, while Michael Caruso bucked the trend by attempting a second flying lap, elevating himself to seventh.

Rick Kelly, Mark Winterbottom, and Will Davison rounded out the top 10.

Lowndes was only 14th after he ran off at Turn 3 in the final minute.

His team-mate van Gisbergen followed him off at the same spot just seconds later, consigning the defending champion to 25th on the grid after Simona de Silvestro did not set a time.

Lee Holdsworth and Nick Percat were back on track after earlier mechanical problems, finishing 13th and 18th respectively.

Qualifying for Race 4

Whincup shook off a brush with the wall to set the fastest lap.

The Red Bull HRT driver glanced the concrete exiting Turn 10 but still put down a 1:54.66s on that lap, a time which stood up to all who followed.

“We had to grind it out in the quali run to keep improving the car and it was at its best at the end there,” said Whincup.

Coulthard will nevertheless start in the front row for all four races, falling just 0.024s shy of car #88.

Tim Slade looked on for pole after setting the fastest first and second sectors but instead finished third, ahead of Chaz Mostert and Todd Kelly.

Shane van Gisbergen waited until the final minute to set a representative time, taking sixth ahead of Michael Caruso, James Courtney, David Reynolds, and Scott Pye.

Mark Winterbottom was 15th, while Lowndes and McLaughlin will share the last row.

Lowndes failed to set a time while McLaughlin had his best lap scrubbed from the results for exceeding track limits at Turn 12.

The first of four 13-lap races starts tomorrow at 13:50 AEDT

Result: Coates Hire Supercars Challenge Qualifying Race 3

Result: Coates Hire Supercars Challenge Qualifying Race 4