Lee Holdsworth has taken his second career pole for the final race of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship at the Sydney Telstra 500 this morning.
The #33 Valvoline Cummins driver dominated the session, ahead of the field at one stage by nearly half a second, but he finishing less than a tenth of a second ahead of Jim Beam Racing’s James Courtney.
Holdsworth finished fourth in yesterday’s first 250km event after leading the first part of the race until he crashed. A storming drive almost saw him climb onto the podium in one of the ‘drives of the season.’
Jack Daniel’s Racing’s Rick Kelly finished the session third, from Mark Winterbtoom (Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon), Greg Murphy (Sprint Gas Commodore),
Holdsworth’s Valvoline team-mate Michael Caruso will start from sixth ahead of Garth Tander (Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore), Jason Bright (Fujitsu Falcon) and Craig Lowndes (TeamVodafone Falcon).
Bundaberg Red racer David Reynolds continued his fast form – he’ll start from 10th.
Newly-crowed champion Jamie Whincup will start the race from 26th after an engine drama crippled his progress. It’s his worst starting slot for the season.
The session was clear of damage, except for Mark McNally’s Hi Tec Oils Commodore which collected the wall and failed to complete more than half of the 20 minute session.
The final 250km of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship will start at 2.35pm.
Click below to hear what Lee Holdsworth had to say after qualifying.
Qualifying – Race 26 – V8 Supercar Championship Series
1. #33 Lee Holdsworth 1:29.3047
2. #18 James Courtney 1:29.4040
3. #15 Rick Kelly 1:29.4306
4. #5 Mark Winterbottom 1:29.4418
5. #51 Greg Murphy 1:29.5560
6. #34 Michael Caruso 1:29.6110
7. #2 Garth Tander 1:29.6169
8. #25 Jason Bright 1:29.6476
9. #888 Craig Lowndes 1:29.7319
10. #24 David Reynolds 1:29.7327
11. #3 Jason Bargwanna 1:29.8377
12. #10 Paul Dumbrell 1:29.8571
13. #22 Will Davison 1:29.9280
14. #14 Cameron McConville 1:29.9594
15. #8 Jason Richards 1:30.0267
16. #4 Alex Davison 1:30.1068
17. #55 Tony D’Alberto 1:30.1386
18. #67 Tim Slade 1:30.1406
19. #9 Shane Van Gisbergen 1:30.1529
20. #111 Fabian Coulthard 1:30.2231
21. #39 Russell Ingall 1:30.2402
22. #6 Steven Richards 1:30.3826
23. #333 Michael Patrizi 1:30.5275
24. #17 Steven Johnson 1:30.5706
25. #7 Todd Kelly 1:30.6933
26. #1 Jamie Whincup 1:30.9750
27. #12 Dean Fiore 1:31.0067
28. #11 Jack Perkins 1:31.1191
29. #16 Mark McNally 1:34.3783
