Red Bull champion Jamie Whincup scorched his way to pole position for Race 8 of the ITM 400 Auckland meeting at Pukekohe Park.
Whincup unleashed a flurry late in the 15-minute session to post a 1:02.7001s lap, a fraction ahead of Mark Winterbottom’s Ford Performance Racing Falcon (1:02.7917s).
The outcome has set the stage for Whincup and Winterbottom to resume their hostilities from Race 7.
Brad Jones Racing Commodore star Fabian Coulthard held the top berth inside the last 10 minutes and was the first driver to dip under the 1:03s barrier.
The double race winner from Symmons Plains will start from third alongside HRT driver James Courtney.
The Race 6 winner Scott McLaughlin produced a 1:02.9825s lap in his GRM Fujitsu Commodore and will start from seventh position.
V8 SUPERCARS: Qualifying Race 8 – Pukekohe
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Jamie Whincup | Red Bull Racing Australia | 1:02.7001 |
| 2 | Mark Winterbottom | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | +0.0916 |
| 3 | Fabian Coulthard | Lockwood Racing | +0.1209 |
| 4 | James Courtney | Holden Racing Team | +0.2359 |
| 5 | Will Davison | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | +0.2384 |
| 6 | Alexandre Premat | Fujitsu Racing GRM | +0.2690 |
| 7 | Scott McLaughlin | Fujitsu Racing GRM | +0.2824 |
| 8 | Shane van Gisbergen | TEKNO Team VIP | +0.3432 |
| 9 | Craig Lowndes | Red Bull Racing Australia | +0.3654 |
| 10 | Alex Davison | Jeld-wen FPR Ford | +0.4922 |
| 11 | David Reynolds | The Bottle-O FPR Ford | +0.5438 |
| 12 | Jason Bright | Team BOC | +0.5509 |
| 13 | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | +0.5615 |
| 14 | James Moffat | Norton 360 Racing | +0.6016 |
| 15 | Rick Kelly | Jack Daniel’s Racing | +0.6283 |
| 16 | Dean Fiore | Dodo Insurance Racing | +0.6509 |
| 17 | Jonathon Webb | Tekno Autosports | +0.6682 |
| 18 | Michael Caruso | Norton 360 Racing | +0.7046 |
| 19 | Russell Ingall | Supercheap Auto Racing | +0.7332 |
| 20 | Todd Kelly | Jack Daniel’s Racing | +0.8052 |
| 21 | Tony D’Alberto | Team HIFLEX | +0.8600 |
| 22 | Tim Blanchard | Wilson Security Racing | +0.8754 |
| 23 | Lee Holdsworth | IRWIN Racing | +0.8837 |
| 24 | Tim Slade | Heavy Haulage Australia Racing | +0.9353 |
| 25 | David Wall | Wilson Security Racing | +0.9630 |
| 26 | Maro Engel | SP Tools Racing | +1.0883 |
| 27 | Jonny Reid | Wilson Security Racing | +1.2714 |
