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Tickford Racing’s Thomas Randle and Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki have shared the pole positions for Sunday’s Repco Supercars Championship races at The Bend.
Fresh off the back of a maiden solo podium on the afternoon prior, Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang) became a Supercars Championship pole-sitter when he pipped Kostecki (#99 Coca-Cola Camaro) to top spot in Qualifying for Race 21 by 0.0526s.
Shane van Gisbergen qualified on Row 2 in that session but his Red Bull Ampol Racing team-mate Broc Feeney (#88 Camaro) and their fellow title contender Will Brown (#9 Coca-Cola Camaro) both missed the top 10.
Cameron Waters (#6 Monster Energy Mustang) looked like he might have given Tickford repeat poles when he went quickest in Qualifying for Race 22, only to be toppled by Kostecki’s very late effort by a margin of 0.4238s.
Waters is therefore set to start the latter 20-lap race of the day from second place, ahead of another four Mustang drivers locking out Rows 2 and 3, including Randle in third, with van Gisbergen seventh in the #97 Camaro.
Once again, Feeney and Brown will start from outside the top 10.
Qualifying for Race 21
After overnight repairs at Brad Jones Racing, Erebus Motorsport, and Matt Stone Racing, all 25 cars rolled out for the opening 15-minute session of the morning under grey skies.
Waters went quickest on his first flyer of 1:50.7716s, 0.0402s up on James Courtney (#5 Snowy River Caravans Mustang), with Randle making it an all-Tickford top three once he set a time of 1:50.8852s.
In fact, it was an all-Ford top six with four minutes to go, ahead of Erebus Motorsport’s Brown in seventh, but the serious running was still to come.
The Blue Oval brigade continued to set the pace, Chaz Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang) taking over top spot with a 1:50.5212s at the start of his final run.
Randle usurped him on a 1:50.0684s before Matt Payne (#19 Penrite Mustang) moved into second place on a 1:50.2788s and, with the chequered flag out, Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang) to third on a 1:50.5022s.
However, the threat of some of the Chevrolet heavy-hitters remained, including none other than championship leader and Race 20 winner Kostecki.
He went fastest to the first two sectors but ultimately came up just shy with a 1:50.1210s which puts the #99 Camaro on the outside of the front row.
Payne will start from Row 2 with van Gisbergen on his outside after the latter set a late 1:50.4954s, with Row 3 comprised of De Pasquale on the inside and Mostert on the outside.
Bryce Fullwood (#14 Middy’s Camaro) qualified seventh, from David Reynolds (#26 Penrite Mustang), Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang), and Nick Percat (#2 Mobil 1 NTI Mustang).
Finishing 11th through 14th were Waters, Feeney (#88 Camaro), Jack Le Brocq (#34 Truck Assist Camaro), and Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro), with Brown 16th.
Complete Race 21 Qualifying results here.
Qualifying for Race 22
Payne started Qualifying for Race 22 with back-to-back fastest laps, a 1:50.3591s and then a 1:50.0804s, putting him 0.4456s clear of the field at the end of the opening runs.
Fullwood sat second while Brown, who reportedly had two new sets of tyres for the session, occupied fifth on a 1:50.7061s.
Le Brocq went somewhat off-sequence and moved to second place with five minutes remaining, although his 1:50.5144s still left him 0.4340s adrift of provisional pole.
Payne stepped out of the #19 Grove Racing Mustang with a handful of minutes remaining, as the final runs began.
Randle shifted the benchmark with a 1:49.9862s before Percat moved into second on a 1:50.0354s.
With less than a minute remaining, Waters clocked a 1:49.9060s and he was still quickest when the chequered flag was unfurled.
This time, however, Kostecki was able to snatch pole, and by some margin, setting a 1:49.4822s.
The top 10 was thus Kostecki, Waters, Randle, Percat, Payne, De Pasquale, van Gisbergen, Davison, Courtney, and Fullwood, with Feeney 11th on a 1:50.3230s, Brown 13th on a 1:50.3946s, Heimgartner 14th on a 1:50.4917s, Le Brocq 15th, and Mostert 17th on a 1:50.5347s.
Race 21 at the OTR SuperSprint starts at 12:50 local time/13:20 AEST.
