![Jack Perkins qualified on pole position for Race 1 of Round 3 of the Super2 Series at the NTI Townsville 500. Image: InSyde Media](https://speedcafe.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/INS11981-1024x683.jpg)
The relative veteran of the field is back in Super2 this weekend in a Gen2-spec Blanchard Racing Team Ford ahead of his enduro campaign with James Courtney at the Box Hill-based team.
He wheeled the #79 S550 Mustang to a 1:14.0495s to score his first pole in the second tier of Supercars since 2013, finishing the 20-minute session 0.0932s ahead of Eggleston Motorsport’s Cooper Murray.
Tickford Racing’s Brad Vaughan will be joined on Row 2 by RM Racing Cars’ Cameron McLeod, while series leader Kai Allen is buried in 13th, the exact median of the 25-car field.
Townsville was sunnier than the day before, but the wind was gusting upwards of 30km/h, helping to propel drivers along Boundary Street (pit straight).
Allen was quickest after the first flyers on a 1:15.3401s and backed that up with a 1:14.7406s before he brought the #1 Eggleston ZB Commodore into pit lane.
Vaughan (#5 S550 Mustang), who did not use a green tyre in practice, went longer on his first run and moved to the top with a 1:14.6877s on his third flyer.
That was the benchmark after the first runs, with Allen second, from Zach Bates (#25 Walkinshaw Andretti United ZB Commodore), Murray (#88 ZB Commodore), and Jarrod Hughes (#118 Image Racing ZB Commodore) on a 1:14.9287s.
Allen reclaimed top spot with a 1:14.6629s at the start of his second run but was bettered immediately by his team-mates, specifically Murray’s 1:14.4359s and Jordyn Sinni’s (#54 ZB Commodore) 1:14.5810s.
Murray increased his margin over the field with a 1:14.1427s next time around before Perkins moved into second place on a 1:14.2287s.
The latter clocked a 1:14.0495s on his following lap to go to the very top, before putting his cue in the rack with three minutes to go.
Campbell Logan (#2 WAU ZB Commodore) then took over third with a 1:14.3068s before he was bettered by Vaughan’s 1:14.2037s and McLeod’s 1:14.2197s in a #92 ZB Commodore which had a brake fire earlier in the session.
McLeod was quicker again to the second sector on his next lap but could not improve by the time he reached the control line and thus stayed fourth, ahead of Logan, Hughes, Rylan Gray (#55 Tickford S550 Mustang), Bates, Aaron Cameron (#27 Kelly Racing S550 Mustang), and Sinni.
Allen could not improve on his third and final run and will share Row 7 of the grid this afternoon with team-mate Cameron Crick (#38 ZB Commodore).
Race 1 of Round 3 of the Super2 Series, a 40-minute contest, is officially scheduled to start this afternoon at 13:15 local time/AEST.
Results: Qualifying for Race 1
Pos | Num | Team/Sponsor | Driver | Car | Cls | Fastest lap | Split |
1 | 79 | Shaw and Partners Racing | Jack Perkins | Ford Mustang GT | DS2 | 1:14.0495 | |
2 | 88 | Eggleston Motorsport | Cooper Murray | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:14.1427 | 0:00.0932 |
3 | 5 | Dormer HVAC Racing | Brad Vaughan | Ford Mustang GT | DS2 | 1:14.2037 | 0:00.1542 |
4 | 92 | RM Racing Cars with Coca-Cola | Cameron McLeod | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:14.2187 | 0:00.1692 |
5 | 2 | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Campbell Logan | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:14.3068 | 0:00.2573 |
6 | 118 | Image Racing | Jarrod Hughes | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:14.3792 | 0:00.3297 |
7 | 55 | Tickford Racing | Rylan Gray | Ford Mustang GT | DS2 | 1:14.3798 | 0:00.3303 |
8 | 25 | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Zach Bates | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:14.4521 | 0:00.4026 |
9 | 27 | Schramm Group Racing | Aaron Cameron | Ford Mustang GT | DS2 | 1:14.5349 | 0:00.4854 |
10 | 54 | Eggleston Motorsport/Car City | Jordyn Sinni | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:14.5810 | 0:00.5315 |
11 | 15 | AWCON / MWM | Cody Burcher | Nissan Altima | DS3 | 1:14.6183 | 0:00.5688 |
12 | 17 | Anderson Motorsport | Max Vidau | Ford Mustang GT | DS2 | 1:14.6389 | 0:00.5894 |
13 | 1 | Eggleston Motorsport/Coca-Cola | Kai Allen | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:14.6629 | 0:00.6134 |
14 | 38 | Eggleston Motorsport | Cameron Crick | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:14.6665 | 0:00.6170 |
15 | 9 | Coca-Cola Racing | Cody Gillis | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:14.6695 | 0:00.6200 |
16 | 19 | Brad Jones Racing | Elliott Cleary | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:14.7238 | 0:00.6743 |
17 | 99 | Erebus Motorsport | Jobe Stewart | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:14.7388 | 0:00.6893 |
18 | 3 | Spitwater / MWM | Thomas Maxwell | Nissan Altima | DS3 | 1:14.8156 | 0:00.7661 |
19 | 22 | Kelly Racing | Mason Kelly | Ford Mustang GT | DS2 | 1:14.8254 | 0:00.7759 |
20 | 20 | Gtechniq | Reuben Goodall | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:14.8804 | 0:00.8309 |
21 | 6 | AWC | Lochie Dalton | Ford Mustang GT | DS2 | 1:14.8971 | 0:00.8476 |
22 | 11 | AIM Motorsport Australia | Zane Morse | Ford Mustang GT | DS2 | 1:14.9399 | 0:00.8904 |
23 | 111 | AIM Motorsport Australia | Dean Fiore | Ford Mustang GT | DS2 | 1:15.0650 | 0:01.0155 |
24 | 18 | Cavalier Homes | Matthew Chahda | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:15.4973 | 0:01.4478 |
25 | 33 | Ascot Demolition/Cylinder Head | Callum Walker | Holden Commodore ZB | DS2 | 1:15.8250 | 0:01.7755 |