Ryan Hansford claimed pole position in qualifying for the opening Gulf Western Oil Touring Car Masters event of the year at the Superloop Adelaide 500.

Hansford recorded a new qualifying lap record during the session, a 1:27.3830s effort that left him four tenths clear of the pack.

Set midway through the session, it stood the test of time to secure top spot over Adam Garwood, with John Bowe another four tenths further back in third.

Steve Johnson’s outing was cut short when his XD Falcon struck trouble, spending the second half of the session in pit lane before climbing out of the car well before the chequered flag fell.

It left him at the foot of the timesheets, the slowest qualifier at 11.6s off the absolute pace, but with only three laps to his name.

Earlier in the day, the opening session saw Cameron Tilley fastest with a 1:28.8036s ahead of Bowe, while Johnson ended the session 10th with a 1:30.8136s.

Touring Car Masters is next on track for its Trophy Race on Friday morning, a 10-lap affair set to begin at 11:45 local time, then Race 1 at 15:05.