Craig Lowndes pounced on the qualifying misfortunes of his rivals to take pole position for Race 30 in the Top 10 Shootout.
The second-last man on track, Lowndes recorded a 1:10.96s to edge previous fast-man James Courtney.
Lowndes’ lap was enough to withstand the lap of qualifying fast-man Garth Tander, who slotted into third.
Although Lowndes was officially given the Armor All Pole Award following the session, a qualifying incident with Will Davison remains under investigation.
Tony D’Alberto, Scott McLaughlin, David Reynolds and Rick Kelly completed the top seven, while Michael Caruso will start ninth after having his time removed for not respecting the track limits.
Fabian Coulthard set the sixth fastest but also found himself excluded for missing the weigh bridge on his return to pitlane.
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Shane van Gisbergen also had a difficult run, cutting the first chicane after locking his rear brakes on entry.
Lowndes noted that the expected strict policing of kerb hopping in the Shootout made it particularly difficult.
“I was a bit nervous because after qualifying the rules came along that you have to have two wheels on track, where in qualifying we were basically jumping all four wheels,” he said.
“It made a little bit of a different but we’re all under the same pressure.
“I just wanted to do a good clean lap and see where we ended up.”
Lowndes’ fellow title contenders Mark Winterbottom, Will Davison and Jamie Whincup will start just 14th, 21st and 25th respectively after various issues in qualifying.
See below for the combined qualifying and Top 10 Shootout result
| 1 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 1:10.9569 | |
| 2 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.0487 | 00.09 |
| 3 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.1994 | 00.24 |
| 4 | Team HIFLEX | Tony D’Alberto | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.2352 | 00.27 |
| 5 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.4734 | 00.51 |
| 6 | The Bottle-O FPR Ford | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 1:11.9462 | 00.98 |
| 7 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:12.0324 | 01.07 |
| 8 | TEKNO Team VIP Petfoods | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | ||
| 9 | Norton Hornets | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | ||
| EXC | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VF | ||
| 11 | Norton Hornets | James Moffat | Nissan Altima | 1:10.80 | 00.64 |
| 12 | Wilson Security Racing | Tim Blanchard | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.81 | 00.65 |
| 13 | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:10.92 | 00.76 |
| 14 | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.94 | 00.78 |
| 15 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.00 | 00.84 |
| 16 | Jeld-wen FPR Ford | Alex Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:11.02 | 00.86 |
| 17 | Heavy Haulage Australia Racing | Tim Slade | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:11.02 | 00.86 |
| 18 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Alexandre Premat | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.02 | 00.86 |
| 19 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.05 | 00.89 |
| 20 | Dodo Insurance Racing | Dean Fiore | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.07 | 00.91 |
| 21 | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:11.09 | 00.93 |
| 22 | TEKNO Team Darrell Lea | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.12 | 00.96 |
| 23 | Wilson Security Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | 1:11.13 | 00.97 |
| 24 | Hogs Breath Cafe Racing | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.15 | 00.99 |
| 25 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.52 | 01.36 |
| 26 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:11.53 | 01.37 |
| 27 | SP Tools Racing | Maro Engel | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:11.62 | 01.46 |
