Golding reset the qualifying lap record with a 1:27.8529s in the #7 CoolDrive Mustang and will be the last driver out for Saturday afternoon’s Top 10 Shootout. That begins at 4:35pm AEDT.

The other drivers to make it into the shootout included Anton De Pasquale, Brodie Kostecki, Cameron Waters, Zach Bates, Broc Feeney, Thomas Randle, Aaron Cameron, Matthew Payne, and Ryan Wood.

“It was definitely tricky out there, [with] a few patches of rain,” said Golding.

“We were a little bit late getting out. We had a drama with one of the recording devices in the car which obviously you legally have to have, so we had to make sure that was right.

“We got out a bit late and then actually got a bit of the rain there. I think we were P23 in the first part of quali, it was a bit stressful. I’ve got a bit of sweat from being hot and a bit from that.

“Luckily we made it through and then chose to run on a used set for the start of Q2. to just get that banker in, and then came out strongly towards the end of that session with a green on. The car felt awesome.”

Qualifying began with concerns over the arrival of inclement weather, prompting some drivers to go straight onto a new tyre.

Local man Jayden Ojeda set the pace initially for PremiAir Racing on a 1:29.2864s just as rain began to sprinkle. A minute later, the rain intensified.

Initially, the times slowed substantially, but the residual heat in the track allowed it to dry up quickly and improvements to come.

Matt Stone Racing’s Jack Le Brocq was among the first to improve. He surged from the drop zone to the top 10.

Despite the drizzle, the times continued to tumble. So much so that Ojeda’s benchmark 1:29.2864s was only good enough for 21st after the final run, though he dug himself out at the death to sixth.

After the first leg, 19th through 24th were locked in. The most high-profile drive to miss the cut was Chaz Mostert, who was only 22nd in his Walkinshaw TWG Racing Toyota Supra.

It was a rollercoaster session for Mostert, who surged from 22nd to third and back to 22nd by the session’s end.

“It’s pretty representative of what was possible,” said Mostert.

“Obviously a bit of weather on the horizon. We stuck to our guns, went with a used tyre at the start, we were one of the first ones on the green (new) tyre.

“Just probably didn’t structure the session together. We tried a lot of things overnight too. There are some positives in there, but we probably didn’t nail it all.”

The rain abated by the end of the first leg, though there were plenty of dark clouds hanging around the circuit.

There was an element of urgency with the rain around. All but Grove Racing’s Matt Payne took to the track when the 12-minute session started.

Cameron set the pace on a 1:28.1931s and elected not to go out for a second run. His time stood the test, ultimately good enough for fifth.

In the end, it was Golding with a record-setting 1:27.8529s to head De Pasquale.

David Reynolds was the first driver on the outside looking in. Another high-profile omission from the top 10 was Will Brown in 13th.

Results: Repco Supercars Championship Dunlop Sydney 500, Race 2 Q2

Results: Repco Supercars Championship Dunlop Sydney 500, Race 2 Q1