Craig Lowndes has taken pole position for Race 16 of the 2011 V8 Supercars Championship at Queensland Raceway.
Lowndes’s 1:09.80s pole time was set on the TeamVodafone driver’s first run of hot laps, proving unbeatable for the remainder of the session.
Tim Slade was the only driver among the leading pack to improve in the closing stages, moving from third to second, just 0.03s off pole.
Rick Kelly will start third, ahead of Jamie Whincup and an outstanding Karl Reindler.
Lee Holdsworth, Jason Bright, Steve Owen, Paul Dumbrell and David Reynolds round out the top 10.
Jonathon Webb was 11th in his Mother Energy Drinks Ford, despite spinning at Turn 3 early in the session.
It was a shocking 20 minutes for the Toll Holden Racing Team. Garth Tander and James Courtney will line-up 20th and 21st respectively, while Walkinshaw Racing’s third car, driven by Fabian Coulthard, was 23rd.
Listen to Lowndes’s post-session comments below
Craig Lowndes pole QR Saturday 2011 by speedcafe
See below for the full qualifying result
| 1 | TeamVodafone | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:09.8034 | |
| 2 | Lucky 7 Racing | Tim Slade | Ford Falcon FG | 1:09.8287 | 0:00.0253 |
| 3 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.0666 | 0:00.2632 |
| 4 | TeamVodafone | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.1144 | 0:00.3110 |
| 5 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.1268 | 0:00.3234 |
| 6 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.1489 | 0:00.3455 |
| 7 | Team Boc | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.1559 | 0:00.3525 |
| 8 | VIP Petfoods | Steve Owen | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.1610 | 0:00.3576 |
| 9 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Paul Dumbrell | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.1611 | 0:00.3577 |
| 10 | Stratco Racing | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.1749 | 0:00.3715 |
| 11 | Mother Energy Racing Team | Jonathon Webb | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.2623 | 0:00.4589 |
| 12 | Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.2660 | 0:00.4626 |
| 13 | Jim Beam Racing | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.2696 | 0:00.4662 |
| 14 | Trading Post FPR Falcon | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.2767 | 0:00.4733 |
| 15 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.2817 | 0:00.4783 |
| 16 | SP Tools Racing | Shane Van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.2856 | 0:00.4822 |
| 17 | Pepsi Max Crew | Greg Murphy | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.2999 | 0:00.4965 |
| 18 | Irwin Racing | Alex Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.3092 | 0:00.5058 |
| 19 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.4007 | 0:00.5973 |
| 20 | Toll Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.4082 | 0:00.6048 |
| 21 | Toll Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.4263 | 0:00.6229 |
| 22 | Jim Beam Racing | James Moffat | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.4534 | 0:00.6500 |
| 23 | Bundaberg Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.4672 | 0:00.6638 |
| 24 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.5207 | 0:00.7173 |
| 25 | Triple F Racing | Dean Fiore | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.6151 | 0:00.8117 |
| 26 | Jana Living Racing | Jason Bargwanna | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.7114 | 0:00.9080 |
| 27 | Wilson Security Racing | Tony D’Alberto | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.7840 | 0:00.9806 |
| 28 | Gulf Western Oil Racing | Warren Luff | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:11.0052 | 0:01.2018 |
