Payne, Mostert split AGP Supercars pole positions

The same three Ford drivers, from as many different teams, filled the top three in both Qualifying for Race 5 and Qualifying for Race 6 at the MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint.

Grove Racing’s Payne denied Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters pole in the former before Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Mostert snatched bragging rights from Payne in the latter session.

Both Triple Eight Race Engineering drivers made the top 10 in both sessions, although further back than has come to be expected, with Broc Feeney fourth and then sixth, and championship leader Will Brown sixth and then ninth.

Qualifying for Race 5

Melbourne’s cool Saturday morning weather presented the promise of fast lap times but very light rain fell as cars moved to the marshalling area for Qualifying for Race 5.

It had ceased by the time the field rolled out but it still appeared to catch out Richie Stanaway (#26 Penrite Mustang) and Nick Percat (#10 Bendix Camaro) when both ran long at Ascari on their respective first hot laps.

Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang) subsequently tested the limits, and then some, when he gave the wall a nudge at the exit of Turn 8.

James Golding (#31 Nulon Camaro) was quickest after the first flyers on a 1:47.2050s from James Courtney (#7 Snowy River Caravans Mustang) on a 1:47.2278s.

Jack Le Brocq (#9 TFH Hire Camaro) went 1:46.9351s on his second hot lap to move into provisional pole position, and then Payne (#19 Penrite Mustang) took up second on a 1:47.1405s once he went for a lap time.

Brown (#87 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) had not set a time in the first 10 minutes but, as the final runs began, jumped to the top with a 1:46.8726s.

He pitted with a minute remaining but several drivers were setting new quickest sector splits and so it was that team-mate Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) reset the fastest lap with a 1:46.7823s, then Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang) with a 1:46.7642s, and Waters (#6 Monster Energy Mustang) with a 1:46.6614s.

With the chequered flag out, Payne beat them all with a 1:46.6541s, making for an all-Ford top three of him, Waters, and Mostert, then Feeney, Le Brocq on a 1:46.8636s, Brown, David Reynolds (#20 Tradie Beer Camaro), Tim Slade (#23 Nulon Camaro), Stanaway, and Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang).

De Pasquale pressed on after his glance of the concrete and ended up 12th on a 1:47.0607s while Race 4 runner-up Mark Winterbottom (#18 DeWalt Camaro) was investigated and cleared of impeding, and hence is set to start 17th.

Qualifying for Race 6

Seven drivers set a lap time initially in Qualifying for Race 6, Percat quickest on a 1:46.6713s which essentially matched Payne’s pole effort from minutes earlier.

Mostert bettered it by almost two tenths with a 1:46.4835s on his first hot lap, about halfway into proceedings, before Feeney moved into fourth on a 1:46.8377s with his first flyer.

Payne then shifted the benchmark by 0.0500s to a 1:46.4335s, before Waters made it another all-Ford top three when he improved to third on a 1:46.5099s.

Mostert had been dispatched for a second run proper and he strung together a 1:46.3227s, just before the chequered flag, to bag his first pole position of the season.

Fourth went to Percat and fifth to Bryce Fullwood (#14 Middy’s Camaro), from Feeney, De Pasquale, Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang), Brown, and Le Brocq.

Andre Heimgartner is set to start last after smacking the wall exiting Turn 5 in the #8 R&J Batteries Camaro late in the piece, with his best lap a 1:53.7995s.

Race 5 is scheduled for 14 laps from this evening at 17:40 local time/AEDT.

Results: Qualifying for Race 5, MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint

Results: Qualifying for Race 6, MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint