The #78 Anderson Motorsport Ford Mustang driver secured top spot with a 1:01.0640s ahead of Brad Vaughan in the #80 Brad Jones Racing Holden ZB Commodore.
It’s a big bounce-back for Best, who has spent two years out of full-time racing. Best finished runner-up in the Super2 Series in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Best had to contend with a last-minute adjustment when it was decided that the Super2 Series would not qualify on the ‘Gardner’ configuration and instead use the shorter ‘Druitt’ layout.
That was one of several challenges for the Benalla-born driver, including some communication hurdles with his engineer French Ludo Lacroix.
“Obviously it was pretty difficult, and there’s not a lot of rubber down, so it was quite slippery,” said Best.
“I had a lot going on in the car, A few things weren’t working.
“I didn’t really know what lap I actually did or what I was doing out there.
“Bit of a language barrier with Ludo [Lacroix] still. Still a few teething issues we’re working on.
“It’s just cool to be on the front row for the first race of the year.”
Ryan Tomsett was impressive in third in the other Anderson Motorsport entry ahead of Tickford Racing’s Ben Gommersall and Blanchard Racing Team’s Lochie Dalton.
Matt Chahda and Alice Buckley are facing a post-session investigation for a potential pit lane speeding violation.
Which layout the V8 feeder category races on is yet to be determined.
The first Dunlop Super2 Series race of the season is slated for 6:10pm AEDT on Saturday.
Results: Dunlop Super2 Series Dunlop Sydney 500, Qualifying
| Pos | Num | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Lap | Diff | Gap |
| 1 | 78 | Zak Best | Anderson Motorsport | Ford Mustang GT | 14 | 1:01.0640 | ||
| 2 | 80 | Brad Vaughan | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 17 | 1:01.1394 | 0.0754 | 0.0754 |
| 3 | 17 | Ryan Tomsett | Anderson Motorsport | Ford Mustang GT | 16 | 1:01.1507 | 0.0867 | 0.0113 |
| 4 | 6 | Ben Gomersall | Tickford Autosport | Ford Mustang GT | 18 | 1:01.1597 | 0.0957 | 0.0090 |
| 5 | 43 | Lochie Dalton | Blanchard Racing Team | Ford Mustang GT | 11 | 1:01.1622 | 0.0982 | 0.0025 |
| 6 | 5 | Reuben Goodall | Tickford Autosport | Ford Mustang GT | 18 | 1:01.1806 | 0.1166 | 0.0184 |
| 7 | 33 | Bailey Sweeny | Blanchard Racing Team | Ford Mustang GT | 18 | 1:01.2336 | 0.1696 | 0.0530 |
| 8 | 56 | Campbell Logan | Tickford Autosport | Ford Mustang GT | 14 | 1:01.3215 | 0.2575 | 0.0879 |
| 9 | 55 | Nash Morris | Tickford Autosport | Ford Mustang GT | 19 | 1:01.3260 | 0.2620 | 0.0045 |
| 10 | 81 | Jordyn Sinni | Matt Chahda Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 16 | 1:01.3324 | 0.2684 | 0.0064 |
| 11 | 28 | Ayrton Hodson | Matt Stone Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 14 | 1:01.3643 | 0.3003 | 0.0319 |
| 12 | 2 | Matt Hillyer | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 16 | 1:01.4608 | 0.3968 | 0.0965 |
| 13 | 54 | Bayley Hall | Eggleston Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 11 | 1:01.6383 | 0.5743 | 0.1775 |
| 14 | 36 | Cody Burcher | Eggleston Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 16 | 1:01.6453 | 0.5813 | 0.0070 |
| 15 | 16 | Tommy Smith | Matt Stone Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 17 | 1:01.6664 | 0.6024 | 0.0211 |
| 16 | 50 | Alice Buckley | Alice Buckley Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 17 | 1:01.7783 | 0.7143 | 0.1119 |
| 17 | 88 | Bradi Owen | Eggleston Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 16 | 1:01.7968 | 0.7328 | 0.0185 |
| 18 | 116 | Hamish Fitzsimmons | Masterton Motorsport | Ford Mustang GT | 16 | 1:01.8177 | 0.7537 | 0.0209 |
| 19 | 38 | Elliott Cleary | Eggleston Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 11 | 1:01.8458 | 0.7818 | 0.0281 |
| 20 | 18 | Matthew Chahda | Matt Chahda Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 15 | 1:01.8795 | 0.8155 | 0.0337 |
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