Davison under investigation after claiming Race 24 pole

Will Davison has claimed pole position at Sandown for Race 24 of the Supercars season after going fastest in the Top 10 Shootout at the end of qualifying.

A strong back half of the lap for Davison was enough to see him claim top spot over Shane van Gisbergen, though it came with a caveat.

That’s due to an investigation for the DJR driver’s entry onto the racetrack, where he appeared to cross the painted chevrons ahead of his shootout effort.

Will Brown will start this afternoon’s race from third while Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert were high-profile omissions from the shootout.

Waters set the first representative lap as the first phase of the three-part qualifying session commenced, recording a 1:08.2822s to rise to the top for Tickford Racing.

He quickly went faster, setting two purple sectors on his next effort.

However, before he could complete the lap, van Gisbergen shot to the top with a 1:07.9604s.

Waters could only manage a 1:08.0239s, falling short of the Triple Eight driver by 0.0635s.

Sitting ninth with two minutes remaining, Mostert put in two personal best sectors, though his lap would not be completed as the red flag was thrown for James Golding.

The PremiAir driver snatched a brake on new tyres into Turn 1, releasing it and running off before becoming bogged in the muddy run-off.

With just 96 seconds remaining, the red flag was disastrous for David Reynolds, who found himself 24th and eliminated from the knock-out session when officials opted not to resume the session.

Also missing the cut were Jack Smith, Nick Percat, and Chris Pither, while Golding officially fell to 25th after losing his times for triggering the stoppage.

Running resumed with the start of Qualifying 2, Davison rapidly climbing to the top of the timesheets with a 1:07.9090s.

Three purple sectors for van Gisbergen saw the Kiwi usurp the DJR driver at the top, recording a 1:07.8995s – a lap 0.0095s quicker than Davison’s.

Brown also improved to move into provisional pole with a 1:07.7159s, just shy of two tenths quicker than the championship leader had managed.

Sitting on the bubble midway through the session were Mostert in 10th and Waters in 11th, the pair straddling the 1:08.3s marker.

Almost as one the field headed back out of the lane with four minutes to run in the 10-minute session.

Brown remained in the shed, comfortable with his lap, with the balance of the filed heading out, most on a new set of tyres.

The order therefore shuffled significantly as the chequered flag fell, Davison climbing back onto provisional pole with Thomas Randle slotting into second.

One of the last across the line, van Gisbergen then demoted Randle a spot while missing the cut were Waters and Mostert, who ended the segment 12th and 13th.

Scott Pye narrowly missed out in 11th, while the balance cut ahead of the Top 10 Shootout included Brodie Kostecki, Todd Hazelwood, Jake Kostecki, Bryce Fullwood, Lee Holdsworth, Tim Slade, and Macauley Jones.

Mark Winterbotom was therefore the first to head out in the shootout courtesy of the 10th best time in Qualifying 2.

The Team 18 driver managed a 1:08.1305s to open proceedings, his lap hurt by wheelspin out of Turn 4 after riding the exit kerb.

Anton de Pasquale was next out, producing a better lap than Winterbottom managed to go faster in the first two sectors to manage a 1:08.0059s.

A high-flying James Courtney ran wide at Turn 1 after riding the kerb hard on the left-hander, his lap never recovered and his 1:08.2884s left him third of the three runners.

Andre Heimgartner ran deep at Dandenong Road on his flying lap to log a 1:09.3946s, leaving him the slowest of those to that point.

Running fifth of the 10 runners, Broc Feeney was out next, though his lap was scuttled by a kerb strike breach at Turn 7.

Jack Le Brocq was next out, the Truck Assist entry struggling for traction out of Dandenong Road en route to a 1:08.5678s, the fourth fastest of the laps in the shootout.

A tidy lap from Brown saw him fastest of anyone to the first split, losing a little time through the middle of the lap before shooting to the top with a 1:07.9691s.

Randle went third fastest with a lap which saw him fastest of anyone through the first third of the lap, managing a 1:08.0115s.

The penultimate runner, van Gisbergen proved strong throughout the lap to record a 1:07.8371s despite a bobble at the final corner.

Completing the session was Davison, the DJR driver more than a tenth down to the first split versus van Gisbergen.

He eked that back through the middle part of the lap, banging in the session’s best final sector to take pole position with a 1:07.6500s.

However, a question mark lingered as the #17 entry was under investigation for a pit exit breach.

That remains unresolved as the field now prepares for Race 24 of the season, the 26-lap encounter beginning at 16:45 AEST.

Results: Qualifying, Race 24