Feeney turns tables on Randle with Race 2 pole

The Triple Eight driver made the best of the second of Saturday morning’s back-to-back qualifying sessions, which featured the first soft tyre running of the weekend.

Feeney qualified second to Tickford Racing’s Thomas Randle in the first session but turned the tables with pole in the second, recording a 50.8368s best.

Randle came unstuck trying to improve in the dying seconds, running wide at the hairpin and then driving into the gravel trap as he tried to recover.

As the session was already in its dying seconds, officials elected against flying the red flags – ensuring Randle keeps his second place starting slot.

Feeney was meanwhile pleased with his morning’s work following Triple Eight’s ropey run last time out at Taupo.

“We probably struggled a little bit on this tyre in New Zealand so to get pole on it here is fantastic,” he said.

“It’s a challenge. The first lap, you brake at 260 [metres] or something on the back straight and hope it pulls up.”

Randle takes Race 1 pole as Kostecki, Wood clash

James Golding was third fastest ahead of Macauley Jones, who scored a career-best qualifying result in fourth.

Brad Jones Racing’s impressive morning was completed by Bryce Fullwood and Jaxon Evans scoring fifth and ninth, having also both made Q2 in the earlier Race 1 qualifying.

Nick Percat, David Reynolds and Cam Waters managed sixth through eighth, while Jack Le Brocq was 10th.

Taupo winners Matt Payne and Chaz Mostert are set to start 11th and 12th respectively after being eliminated in Q1 for the second consecutive occasion.

Mostert was one of several to report suffering slow leaks in tyres during the qualifying sessions.

Championship leader Will Brown will start Race 2 down in 13th after a mistake on his last lap.

“I bailed out of my lap. I made a little error. I plucked fifth and just made a bit of an error into the first corner,” he explained.

“I felt like my [first] lap wasn’t that bad but obviously everyone is doing a really good job out there.

“It’s hard switching from tyre to tyre, it’s literally a bit of a gamble. You’re wondering how hard to go into the corner, how deep you brake, all of those things.”

Q2 runners in the earlier session James Courtney, Ryan Wood and Brodie Kostecki were just 17th, 19th and 21st respectively in the second.

Kostecki’s Dick Johnson Racing teammate Will Davison will start last after a battery issue meant his Shell Ford failed to fire.

Results: Tasmania Super440 Race 2 qualifying, Symmons Plains