New engine sees Lowndes take record breaking pole

Craig Lowndes has bounced back from engine problems in morning practice to score pole position for Race 16 of the V8 Supercars Championship at the Coates Hire Ipswich 300.

Following an engine change between sessions, Lowndes pipped team-mate Jamie Whincup to take his fourth Armor All Pole Award of the season.

Set with just two of the 20 minutes remaining, Lowndes’ 1:09.22s was the only time recorded under John Bowe’s previous qualifying record of 1:09.26s set back in 1999.

Whincup was 0.16s adrift in second having recorded his best lap seconds before Lowndes’ effort.

Mark Winterbottom jumped to third by completing his last run after the chequered flag, while Will Davison, Fabian Coulthard and Shane van Gisbergen rounded out the top six.

David Reynolds sat atop the times prior to the final green tyre runs, but could not improve in the final minutes and was bumped to seventh.

Completing the top 10 were Russell Ingall, Michael Caruso and Lee Holdsworth.

Like Reynolds, the IRWIN Ford had also been one of the early pace-setters but could not lap faster as the session continued.

Dean Fiore meanwhile sat fourth for much of the session but was bumped to 11th in the late scramble.

Further back in the field it was a difficult run for Holden Racing Team pair Garth Tander and James Courtney who could manage just 18th and 21st respectively.

Likewise, Tekno Autosports duo Jonathon Webb and Michael Patrizi struggled to 22nd and 23rd, with the latter’s session punctuated by a 60 second pitlane hold for displaying the incorrect tyre light in the early minutes.

At the bottom of the pile, Jacques Villeneuve avoided the wooden spoon by running 0.0031s faster than 28th placed qualifier David Wall.

Race 16 of the championship, to be held over 140km, is set to take place at 1605 local time.

See below for the full qualifying result

See below for Speedcafe.com’s Coates Hire Ipswich 300 Race Guide