Ragged van Gisbergen takes pole for Supercars Race 13 at Winton

Shane van Gisbergen has qualified fastest for Race 13 of the Repco Supercars Championship at the Pizza Hut Winton SuperSprint despite a ragged pole lap.

Onboard footage showed the Red Bull Ampol Racing driver with a battle on his hands to catch the #97 ZB Commodore between Turns 6 and 7 in the final part of the knockout session, but he still managed to set a time of 1:18.2644s.

It was an effort almost as quick as the Winton practice record which van Gisbergen reset earlier in the session, and one which no one would beat.

Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters (#6 Monster Energy Mustang) came closest at just 0.0422s shy, while Chaz Mostert ended up third at 0.1018s slower again in the #25 Mobil 1 Optus ZB Commodore.

Aside from pole position, the big stories were the Shell V-Power Racing Team’s Will Davison (#17 Mustang) getting caught out when he opted for just one run in Part 2, which saw him end up 13th, and Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Nick Percat (#2 Mobil 1 NTI ZB Commodore) not even making it that far.

Said van Gisbergen at the end of Qualifying for Race 13, “[The car] was really good but better than the driver.

“I kept making mistakes and in that one I had a problem; I couldn’t get sixth [gear] on the front straight and hung on the limiter.

“I didn’t lose much but still annoying, but yeah, it’s very hard to drive here. There’s so much grip, the cars are really alive.

“It’s really cool, it’s the fastest we have been here on this tyre [super soft] as well so enjoying but let’s see how we go in the race.”

The third and final part of qualifying began with just a handful going for a flyer, Will Brown (#9 Boost Mobile ZB Commodore) fastest of them with a 1:18.4094s before exiting the seat for the latter half of proceedings.

He would be knocked off by van Gisbergen, then Waters on a 1:18.3066s and Mostert on a 1:18.4084s in the final minutes, but settled in fourth on the timesheet.

Lee Holdsworth (#10 Penrite Mustang) also went early and then put his cue in the rack, his 1:18.5256s good enough for fifth, with Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang) to join him on the third row.

David Reynolds (#26 Penrite Mustang) was seventh-quickest, an arguably subpar result considering his pace earlier in the session and also in the two practice hit-outs, ahead of Broc Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol ZB Commodore), Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries ZB Commodore), and Scott Pye (#20 Nulon ZB Commodore).

Earlier in Part 2, the crews of Davison and Brodie Kostecki (#99 Boost Mobile ZB Commodore) gambled and lost.

Both stayed in the pits when everyone else went for a run at the end of the 10-minute segment, and were ultimately pushed out of the top 10.

Brodie Kostecki was bumped right at the end by van Gisbergen and ended up 11th having tried to sit on a 1:18.7381s, while Davison wound up 13th on a 1:18.7939s.

Reynolds was top in the stanza on a 1:18.2717s, with Mark Winterbottom (#18 Irwin Tools ZB Commodore) among those who did not make the cut, in 12th position.

Behind Davison, Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang) was 14th, from Jake Kostecki (#56 Tradie Mustang), Macauley Jones (#96 DrillPro ZB Commodore), Jack Le Brocq (#34 Truck Assist Mustang), Bryce Fullwood (#14 Middy’s ZB Commodore), wildcard Jayden Ojeda (#27 Mobil 1 East Coast Lubes ZB Commodore), and James Courtney (#5 Snowy River Caravans Mustang) in 20th.

Back in Part 1, van Gisbergen’s practice record from the preceding session of the day was knocked off immediately by Reynolds’ 1:18.2562s then the two-time champion himself on a 1:18.2375s.

Those two sat out the remainder of the 10 minutes, unsurprisingly, but what was surprising was Percat’s failure to progress, while team-mates Mostert and Ojeda did.

Todd Hazelwood (#35 Truck Assist ZB Commodore), who replays showed having a late off at Turn 1, was bumped with the chequered flag out by Randle and will thus start 21st, with Percat alongside.

Jordan Boys (#49 Dynamic Supplies ZB Commodore) ended up 23rd, from Tim Slade (#3 CoolDrive Mustang), Chris Pither (#22 Coca-Cola ZB Commodore), Jack Smith (#4 SCT Logistics ZB Commodore), and Garry Jacobson (#76 Subway ZB Commodore).

Race 13 of the season, a 36-lapper, is scheduled for 15:35 local time/AEST.

Results: Qualifying for Race 13, Pizza Hut Winton SuperSprint