Kelvin van der Linde and Geoff Emery hold provisional pole for the Australian Endurance Championship Sydney Motorsport Park 501 after the South African was fastest in Qualifying 1.
Van der Linde waited slightly longer than the rest of the field to start his qualifying run but was fastest by the end of his second lap, and faster again next time around in the #74 Jamec Pem Audi R8.
That third lap made all the difference as Dom Storey threatened to knock his time off inside the final five minutes, falling just 0.05s short by the finish line in the Eggleston Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Jaxon Evans took the second of the Jamec Pem Audis to third fastest, his best lap coming at the halfway mark, while Tony D’Alberto snuck into fourth with a late effort in Max Twigg’s Mercedes-AMG GT3.
John Martin put the Walkinshaw Racing Porsche into fifth just half a second shy of the pace, while the BMW Team SRM M6 GT3 of Steven Richards was sixth.
David Russell (Lago Racing Lamborghini) was seventh ahead of Craig Baird (Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes), Warren Luff (Total McLaren 650S), while reigning Blancpain GT Series champion Dominik Baumann (Hog’s Breath Mercedes AMG GT3) completed the top 10.
The 17-car Australian GT field will return to the track for Qualifying 2 at 1345 AEST.
Result: Australian GT Endurance Championship Qualifying 1
| 1 | Valvoline | Kelvin van der Linde (RSA) | Audi R8 LMS | 1:28.4474* | |
| 2 | Eggleston Motorsport | Dominic Storey (VIC) | Mercedes Benz AMG GT | 1:28.4937 | 00.0463 |
| 3 | Valvoline | Jaxon Evans (QLD) | Audi R8 LMS | 1:28.7971 | 00.3497 |
| 4 | WM Waste | Tony D’Alberto (VIC) | Mercedes Benz AMG GT | 1:28.8472 | 00.3998 |
| 5 | MEGA Racing | John Martin (QLD) | Porsche 911 GT3-R | 1:29.0078 | 00.5604 |
| 6 | BMW Team SRM | Steve Richards (VIC) | BMW M6 GT3 | 1:29.1589 | 00.7115 |
| 7 | Lago Racing – JBS Australia | David Russell (QLD) | Lamborghini R-EX | 1:29.2859 | 00.8385 |
| 8 | Scott Taylor Motorsport | Craig Barid (QLD) | Mercedes Benz AMG GT | 1:29.3009 | 00.8535 |
| 9 | YNA Autosport / McElrea Racing | Warren Luff (QLD) | McLaren 650S GT3 | 1:29.3420 | 00.8946 |
| 10 | Hogs Breath Cafe / Griffith Co | Dominik Baumann (AUT) | Mercedes Benz AMG GT | 1:29.3968 | 00.9494 |
| 11 | AMAC Motorsport – IMAK-Kwikmit | Brad Shiels (NSW) | Lamborghini Huracan | 1:29.5431 | 01.0957 |
| 12 | Timken / Zagame Autosport | Cameron McConville (VIC) | Lamborghini Huracan | 1:29.6078 | 01.1604 |
| 13 | Maranello Motorsport | Graham Smyth (NZ) | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 1:29.9663 | 01.5189 |
| 14 | Kentucky Fried Chicken | Daniel Gaunt (NZ) | Audi R8 LMS | 1:29.9895 | 01.5421 |
| 15 | Darrell Lea | Jonny Reid (NZ) | McLaren 650S GT3 | 1:30.2584 | 01.8110 |
| 16 | GT Motorsport | Grant Denyer (NSW) | Audi R8 LMS | 1:31.2135 | 02.7661 |
| 17 | Haemokinesis / Whispering Vine | Ryan Millier (VIC) | Lamborghini Huracan | 1:31.8636 | 03.4162 |
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