John Bowe will start from pole position for the the first of three Touring Car Masters series races to be held at Phillip Island tomorrow.
The touring car legend set a best time of 1:44.96s on his fifth and final flying lap of the 20 minute session.
The AMC Javelin of Jim Richards will share the front-row with Bowe’s Mustang, despite a full 1.4s separating the pair’s fastest times.
Gavin Bullas (Ford Mustang), Eddie Abelnica (Ford Falcon XB), Keith Kassulke (Ford Falcon XB), Bill Pye (Chevrolet Camaro), Andrew Miedecke (Chevrolet Camaro), Brett Youlden (Holden Monaro HQ), Tony Haranfilovski(Ford Falcon XY) and Chris Collins (Ford Falcon XA) rounded out the top 10.
Improving track conditions saw several teams change from wets to slicks during the qualifying session.
According to Bowe, the changing grip levels made set-up a difficult proposition.
“We’ve all been indecisive about what tyres to put on and what setup to run with because it’s been damp and then dry, and again the weather today has been very changeable so at the last minute we decided to put slicks on, but the car had a wet setup so wasn’t ideal,” said Bowe.
“I think it will be an interesting race weekend. It’s unlike most places we race, it’s got very high offload corners, it’s always inclement and keeping you on your toes so what it throws up is anyone’s race really.
“It’s always good to get the front row start, but keep an eye on this weekend – there might be surprises.”
Qualifying for the second round of the 2012 Kerrick Sports Sedan National Series also took place at Phillip Island today, where Darren Hossack (Audi A4) beat arch rival Tony Ricciardello (Alfa GTV) to pole position.
Hossack’s 1:44.14s time from a drying Qualifying 1 proved good enough for pole thanks to conditions worsening prior to the start of the second 20 minute session.
Des Wall (Chevrolet Corvette) and Kerry Baily (Aston Martin DBR9) will share the second row – resuming their battle from the opening round at Mallala.
Leigh Moran ended the day fifth fastest despite bending his ex-Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon V8 Supercar in a crash at the Hayshed.
The Sports Sedans will complete three races as part of the Shannons Nationals presented by Hi-Tec Oils event at Phillip Island tomorrow.
