Cooper Murray has taken pole position for the opening Dunlop Super2 Series race of the season in Newcastle.
A strong lap left the Eggleston Motorsport driver more than 0.3s clear of the chasing pack, headed by Jack Perkins who booked his place on the front row as the chequered flag waved.
Cameron McLeod was the fastest of the Super3 runners, banking the fastest time in class in an effort that will see him 15th overall.
Super2 session
Brad Vaughan set the early running while Aaron Love locked up at the hairpin, skating straight on but able to keep going.
Zach Bates also had a moment, though his resulting in front-left damage as he nosed into the wall at Turn 8.
He dragged the car back to the pits, though his session was done.
The rapid-fire session put a premium on clear track – Love and Ryan Wood having a moment at the final corner as the latter looked to end a lap and the former prepared to start one.
With just over two minutes remaining, Cooper Murray shot to the top with a 1:12.6342s, putting him 0.4635s clear of Zak Best with Love third ahead of Vaughan and Kai Allen.
In the final moments, Best had set to purple sectors but was unable to round out the lap as he remained second best.
That became third when Perkins set a lap as the flag waved to bank a 1:12.9482s to take second behind Murray.
Best was third fastest ahead of Allen, Love, and Vaughan completing the third row.
Super3 session
The opening phase of the session was exclusively for Super3 runners, with McLeod heading the nine-car field initially.
He managed a 1:14.5241s to sit 0.2760s clear halfway through the 10-minute segment.
Jobe Stewart improved to a 1:14.2285s to spring clear by almost 0.3s, going even faster on the following lap.
Traffic in the final sector scuppered that effort and he ended up 0.2s slower than his previous best.
McLeod hit back with a 1:14.0778s to reclaim provisional pole by 0.1507s over Stewart as Jett Johnson remained third.
The session ended with McLeod fastest by 0.1897s after improving as the chequered flag waved with Stewart second and Johnson third.
Results: Qualifying for Race 1
| Pos | Num | Team/Sponsor | Driver | Car | Cls | Fastest lap | Split |
| 1 | 88 | Eggleston Motorsport | Cooper Murray | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:12.6342 | |
| 2 | 70 | Shaw and Partners Racing | Jack Perkins | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:12.9482 | 0:00.3140 |
| 3 | 17 | Anderson Motorsport | Zak Best | Ford Mustang GT | S2 | 1:13.0977 | 0:00.4635 |
| 4 | 26 | Eggleston Motorsport | Kai Allen | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:13.1000 | 0:00.4658 |
| 5 | 78 | Petronas Motorsport | Aaron Love | Ford Mustang GT | S2 | 1:13.1962 | 0:00.5620 |
| 6 | 5 | Dormer HVAC Services | Brad Vaughan | Ford Mustang GT | S2 | 1:13.2206 | 0:00.5864 |
| 7 | 49 | Cowbiz | Jay Hanson | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:13.2414 | 0:00.6072 |
| 8 | 18 | Cavalier Homes | Matthew Chahda | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:13.2909 | 0:00.6567 |
| 9 | 3 | MW Motorsport | Jaylyn Robotham | Ford Mustang GT | S2 | 1:13.3002 | 0:00.6660 |
| 10 | 2 | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Ryan Wood | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:13.3213 | 0:00.6871 |
| 11 | 38 | Eggleston Motorsport | Cameron Crick | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:13.4398 | 0:00.8056 |
| 12 | 25 | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Zach Bates | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:13.4563 | 0:00.8221 |
| 13 | 43 | AWC Motorsport | Lachlan Dalton | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:13.4661 | 0:00.8319 |
| 14 | 30 | Gomersall Motorsport | Aaron Seton | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:13.9938 | 0:01.3596 |
| 15 | 92 | Ryan McLeod Racing Cars | Cameron McLeod | Nissan Altima | S3 | 1:14.0388 | 0:01.4046 |
| 16 | 67 | World Gym Racing | Nash Morris | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:14.1720 | 0:01.5378 |
| 17 | 11 | Turps Tippers | Zane Morse | Ford Mustang GT | S2 | 1:14.1892 | 0:01.5550 |
| 18 | 999 | Image Racing | Jobe Stewart | Holden Commodore VF | S3 | 1:14.2285 | 0:01.5943 |
| 19 | 54 | Eggleston Motorsport | Jordyn Sinni | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:14.3296 | 0:01.6954 |
| 20 | 117 | NAPA Auto Parts | Jett Johnson | Nissan Altima | S3 | 1:14.5635 | 0:01.9293 |
| 21 | 97 | Eggleston Motorsport | Matthew McCutcheon | Holden Commodore VF | S3 | 1:14.6740 | 0:02.0398 |
| 22 | 89 | Bowers Heavy Haulage | Ryan Gilroy | Holden Commodore VF | S3 | 1:15.2945 | 0:02.6603 |
| 23 | 22 | Kelly Racing | Mason Kelly | Nissan Altima | S3 | 1:15.4007 | 0:02.7665 |
| 24 | 6 | Steeline | Elly Morrow | Ford Mustang GT | S2 | 1:15.6263 | 0:02.9921 |
| 25 | 33 | Cylinder Head Warehouse | Callum Walker | Holden Commodore ZB | S2 | 1:16.6544 | 0:04.0202 |
| 26 | 35 | Gomersall Motorsport | Jason Gomersall | Holden Commodore VF | S3 | 1:17.3110 | 0:04.6768 |
| 27 | 39 | Matt Stone Racing | Chris Smerdon | Holden Commodore VF | S3 | 1:17.8606 | 0:05.2264 |
| 28 | 219 | Masterton Motorsport | James Masterton | Ford Mustang GT | S2 | 1:18.0062 | 0:05.3720 |
| 29 | 7 | Mocomm Motorsport Comms | Jim Pollicina | Holden Commodore VE2 | S3 | 1:18.0368 | 0:05.4026 |
Discussion about this post