Andrew Thompson has made the perfect start to this weekend’s Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series title decider by scoring pole position for Race 1.
After clutch and electrical issues left him just fifth fastest in Friday practice, Thompson lapped the Sydney Olympic Park venue in a best time of 1:29.91s in qualifying, to beat Nick Percat by 0.25s.
Chaz Mostert was a further 0.42s adrift in third, having been baulked on his final flyer after recording the fastest time to the end of the second sector.
The Navy-backed FPR pilot’s chances of a second consecutive pole were reduced to zero when a red flag appeared soon after for the stranded Commodore of Marcus Zukanovic.
Daniel Jilesen had jumped to fourth just prior to the final stoppage, while David Russell, Jack Perkins, Andrew Jones, Taz Douglas, Paul Morris and Tim Blanchard rounded out the top 10.
Scott McLaughlin’s best time was good enough for fifth fastest, but was removed for causing an early red flag, leaving the 18-year-old to start from 23rd.
Thompson currently holds a 233 point lead over David Russell in the series standings, with 150 points available to the winner of each of the two races this weekend.
See below for the full session result
| 1 | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Andrew Thompson | Holden Commodore VE | 1:28.9141 | |
| 2 | Coates Hire Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VE | 1:29.1625 | 0:00.2484 |
| 3 | TEAM NAVY | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | 1:29.5833 | 0:00.6692 |
| 4 | R&J Batteries/EarthEx/KingGee | Daniel Jilesen | Holden Commodore VE | 1:29.7765 | 0:00.8624 |
| 5 | Team Jayco | David Russell | Ford Falcon BF | 1:30.0051 | 0:01.0910 |
| 6 | Bob Jane T Marts | Jack Perkins | Ford Falcon BF | 1:30.1102 | 0:01.1961 |
| 7 | Team BOC | Andrew Jones | Holden Commodore VE | 1:30.2430 | 0:01.3289 |
| 8 | Fastaz Motorsport | Taz Douglas | Holden Commodore VZ | 1:30.3296 | 0:01.4155 |
| 9 | Sargent Security Racing | Paul Morris | Holden Commodore VE | 1:30.3733 | 0:01.4592 |
| 10 | Team Jayco | Tim Blanchard | Ford Falcon BF | 1:30.5243 | 0:01.6102 |
| 11 | Carrington Equip/Go Karts Go | Drew Russell | Ford Falcon BF | 1:30.5273 | 0:01.6132 |
| 12 | CEG Rentals/Go Karts Go | Aaren Russell | Ford Falcon BF | 1:30.7386 | 0:01.8245 |
| 13 | AC Delco/Simworx/NDD | Geoff Emery | Holden Commodore VE | 1:30.7549 | 0:01.8408 |
| 14 | Bob Jane T-Marts | Rodney Jane | Ford Falcon FG | 1:30.9205 | 0:02.0064 |
| 15 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VE | 1:31.1527 | 0:02.2386 |
| 16 | STR Truck Bodies | Marcus Zukanovic | Holden Commodore VE | 1:31.4440 | 0:02.5299 |
| 17 | favourit.com / AFS | Tony Bates | Holden Commodore VE | 1:31.4603 | 0:02.5462 |
| 18 | Mad Croc Energy | Robert Cregan | Ford Falcon BF | 1:32.2599 | 0:03.3458 |
| 19 | Bisley Work Wear | Colin Sieders | Ford Falcon BF | 1:33.3361 | 0:04.4220 |
| 20 | Solo/NCSS | Aaron McGill | Ford Falcon BF | 1:33.6413 | 0:04.7272 |
| 21 | Formula Tech/Interquip Racing | Brett Stewart | Holden Commodore VE | 1:34.6871 | 0:05.7730 |
| 22 | Drill Pro Services/Fuchs/ACS | Nick Cassidy | Holden Commodore VE | 1:34.6912 | 0:05.7771 |
| 23 | Fujitsu | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG | 7:51.1629 | 6:22.2488 |
| 24 | Team Tom Supporters Club | Tom Tweedie | Ford Falcon BF | 1:28.9141 |
