Scott McLaughlin has provisionally claimed the Armor All pole position for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
The Shell V-Power Racing driver was unable to match his practice lap record effort from earlier in the day but still had plenty in the tank to take top spot.
While McLaughlin starred, his title rival Jamie Whincup (Red Bull Holden) missed out on the Top 10 Shootout and will start Sunday’s race from 11th position.
Whincup was unable to extract the pace required to challenge the top order throughout the session.
McLaughlin jumped to the top of the times sheets early in the 40 minute session before posting a 2:04.74s benchmark after 15 minutes.
The championship leader went on to shave a further five tenths from his time time with a 2:04.22s, which proved enough to claim provisional pole.
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Erebus Motorsport’s David Reynolds emerged as his nearest rival with a last gasp effort as he ended up 0.24s shy of McLaughlin.
The time arrived just seconds before a red flag caused by Garry Rogers Motorsport’s James Moffat, who clouted the wall at The Dipper.
Moffat had occupied ninth spot but as a result of the incident his best time was expunged dropping him to 22nd.
It did however promote team-mate Garth Tander into Saturday’s Armor All Top 10 Shootout.
Prodrive’s Chaz Mostert was third as he led a quartet of Fords, including Cameron Waters (Prodrive), Mark Winterbottom (Prodrive) and Fabian Coulthard (Shell V-Power Racing).
Shane van Gisbergen was the only Triple Eight runner in the top 10 in seventh.
Mobil 1 HSV Racing’s James Courtney claimed eighth ahead of Jason Bright, who ensured all four Prodrive Falcons will take part in the shootout.
Craig Lowndes was among a group of high profile entries to miss out on the Top 10 Shootout in 19th position.
The six-time Bathurst 1000 winner was more than a second shy of McLaughlin after an eventful session that included a wild off-track excursion at The Chase.
Last year’s race winner Will Davison will start Sunday’s race from 16th position after his session came to an abrupt halt when he struck the wall.
The field will return to the track on Saturday for Practice 6 at 1010 before the Armor All Top 10 Shootout at 1710.
Armor All Qualifying: Virgin Australia Supercars Championship Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000
| 1 | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG/X | 2:04.2254 | |
| 2 | Erebus Penrite Racing | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VF | 2:04.4730 | 0.2476 |
| 3 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG/X | 2:04.5304 | 0.3050 |
| 4 | Monster Energy Racing | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG/X | 2:04.5958 | 0.3704 |
| 5 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG/X | 2:04.7857 | 0.5603 |
| 6 | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG/X | 2:04.8955 | 0.6701 |
| 7 | Red Bull Holden Racing Aust | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.0225 | 0.7971 |
| 8 | Mobil 1 HSV Racing | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.0417 | 0.8163 |
| 9 | MEGA Racing | Jason Bright | Ford Falcon FG/X | 2:05.0804 | 0.8550 |
| 10 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.1094 | 0.8840 |
| 11 | Red Bull Holden Racing Aust | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.1686 | 0.9432 |
| 12 | Sengled Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 2:05.1996 | 0.9742 |
| 13 | Nissan Motorsport | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 2:05.2503 | 1.0249 |
| 14 | Brad Jones Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.2846 | 1.0592 |
| 15 | carsales Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 2:05.2974 | 1.0720 |
| 16 | TEKNO Woodstock Racing | Will Davison | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.3840 | 1.1586 |
| 17 | Preston Hire Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.4379 | 1.2125 |
| 18 | Freightliner Racing | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.5562 | 1.3308 |
| 19 | TeamVortex | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.5625 | 1.3371 |
| 20 | Mobil 1 HSV Racing | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.6182 | 1.3928 |
| 21 | Erebus GB Galvanizing Racing | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.6414 | 1.4160 |
| 22 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | James Moffat | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.6430 | 1.4176 |
| 23 | Team Harvey Norman | Simona De Silvestro | Nissan Altima | 2:05.9423 | 1.7169 |
| 24 | Team CoolDrive | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VF | 2:05.9703 | 1.7449 |
| 25 | Plus Fitness Racing | Aaren Russell | Holden Commodore VF | 2:06.4233 | 2.1979 |
| 26 | Repair Management Aust Racing | Alex Rullo | Holden Commodore VF | 2:07.4801 | 3.2547 |
Top 10 provisional; Shootout tomorrow
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