Will Davison and Shell V-Power Racing have pulled off the seemingly impossible after snagging pole position for Race 26 of the Supercars season at Sandown.
An electrical problem in Qualifying for Race 25, which saw Shane van Gisbergen on pole, threatened to leave Saturday’s winner a scratching from Qualifying for Race 26.
Quick work from the team identified and worked around the issue, allowing Davison to get back out on track, where he duly rewarded their efforts.
Qualifying for Race 25
Conditions were similar to those on Saturday morning, with a key difference being a dry track.
It was a rapid-fire session with Broc Feeney the early pacesetter with a 1:08.2854s, though that was quickly bumped down the order.
An early moment saw Todd Hazelwood in the weeds, though the Truck Assist driver was able to recover without further incident.
Cameron Waters lowered the benchmark time to a 1:07.7545s to head yesterday’s pole-sitter, and race winner, Davison.
However, his lap was set on new tyres versus the roaded rubber for his Shell V-Power rival.
As he headed out for his second run, Davison was called back into the pits with an electrical problem in the Ford Mustang, the cabin filling with smoke.
Such was its density, he was forced to open the door, quickly climbing out once back in the lane.
As that was happening, times continued to drop with Chaz Mostert improving to a 1:07.4692s, though that would be demoted to third as van Gisbergen managed a 1:07.4467s.
Waters moved into second with a 1:07.4605s, the top three split by just 0.015s.
Davison fell to 11th, though he faced bigger dramas as part of the wiring loom appeared melted.
Qualifying for Race 26
Davison was able to join the session as it started, the team having quickly identified and found a workaround for the problem.
That appeared to centre on the data plug on the side of the car, the pins of which looked to have made contact and created an electrical short.
He quickly showed there were seemingly no lingering issues by setting the early pace with a 1:07.5277s to claim provisional pole after the first round of laps.
That stood until van Gisbergen improved with a 1:07.4394s, a time 0.8830s quicker than Davison’s initial effort.
With a time on the board for much of the field, the pack circled back to the lane to change tyres.
Will Brown was not among those to run again, the Boost Mobile driver out of the car sitting provisionally fourth.
The bulk of the field headed back out with three minutes remaining, van Gisbergen slowing the field with much of the train remaining behind him.
James Courtney opted not to and moved to the head of the pack.
Van Gisbergen went fastest of anybody to the second split, completing the lap in 1:07.2491s despite encountering Jack Smith in the final sector.
Soon after, Davison went better with 1:07.2078s as the chequered flag waved, with DJR team-mate Anton De Pasquale third on 1:07.4260s.
Race 25 of the 2022 Supercars Championship is scheduled to start at 13:05 AEST.
Results: Qualifying for Race 25, Penrite Oil Sandown SuperSprint
Pos | Num | Team/Sponsor | Driver | Car | Fastest lap |
1 | 97 | Red Bull Ampol Racing | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.4467 |
2 | 6 | Monster Energy Racing | Cameron Waters | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.4605 |
3 | 25 | Mobil 1 Optus Racing | Chaz Mostert | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.4692 |
4 | 88 | Red Bull Ampol Racing | Broc Feeney | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.5230 |
5 | 20 | Nulon Racing | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.5646 |
6 | 26 | Penrite Racing | David Reynolds | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.6620 |
7 | 9 | Boost Mobile Racing by Erebus | William Brown | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.6966 |
8 | 31 | Subway PremiAir Racing | James Golding | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.7016 |
9 | 8 | R&J Batteries Racing | Andre Heimgartner | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.7606 |
10 | 99 | Boost Mobile Racing by Erebus | Brodie Kostecki | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.8152 |
11 | 17 | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Will Davison | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.8157 |
12 | 18 | IRWIN Racing | Mark Winterbottom | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.8482 |
13 | 11 | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Anton De Pasquale | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.8729 |
14 | 5 | Snowy River Racing | James Courtney | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.9000 |
15 | 34 | Truck Assist Racing | Jack Le Brocq | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.9522 |
16 | 96 | Brad Jones Racing | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.9985 |
17 | 3 | CoolDrive Auto Parts | Tim Slade | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.9994 |
18 | 22 | PremiAir Coca Cola Racing | Chris Pither | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.0362 |
19 | 14 | Middy’s Electrical Racing | Bryce Fullwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.0561 |
20 | 55 | Castrol Racing | Thomas Randle | Ford Mustang GT | 1:08.0681 |
21 | 2 | Mobil 1 NTI Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.1221 |
22 | 35 | Truck Assist Racing | Todd Hazelwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.1698 |
23 | 500 | Penrite Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Mustang GT | 1:08.2252 |
24 | 56 | Tradie Racing | Jake Kostecki | Ford Mustang GT | 1:08.3790 |
25 | 4 | SCT Logistics Racing | Jack Smith | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.8245 |
Results: Qualifying for Race 26, Penrite Oils Sandown SuperSprint
Pos | Num | Team/Sponsor | Driver | Car | Fastest lap |
1 | 17 | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Will Davison | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.2078 |
2 | 97 | Red Bull Ampol Racing | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.2491 |
3 | 11 | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Anton De Pasquale | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.4260 |
4 | 18 | IRWIN Racing | Mark Winterbottom | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.4429 |
5 | 25 | Mobil 1 Optus Racing | Chaz Mostert | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.4460 |
6 | 6 | Monster Energy Racing | Cameron Waters | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.5008 |
7 | 26 | Penrite Racing | David Reynolds | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.5080 |
8 | 55 | Castrol Racing | Thomas Randle | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.5149 |
9 | 88 | Red Bull Ampol Racing | Broc Feeney | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.572 |
10 | 20 | Nulon Racing | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.5852 |
11 | 9 | Boost Mobile Racing by Erebus | William Brown | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.5991 |
12 | 3 | CoolDrive Auto Parts | Tim Slade | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.6335 |
13 | 56 | Tradie Racing | Jake Kostecki | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.6516 |
14 | 8 | R&J Batteries Racing | Andre Heimgartner | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.6749 |
15 | 31 | Subway PremiAir Racing | James Golding | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.6812 |
16 | 500 | Penrite Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.7074 |
17 | 2 | Mobil 1 NTI Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.7187 |
18 | 5 | Snowy River Racing | James Courtney | Ford Mustang GT | 1:07.7506 |
19 | 35 | Truck Assist Racing | Todd Hazelwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.7949 |
20 | 99 | Boost Mobile Racing by Erebus | Brodie Kostecki | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.8082 |
21 | 96 | Brad Jones Racing | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.8761 |
22 | 34 | Truck Assist Racing | Jack Le Brocq | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.8884 |
23 | 14 | Middy’s Electrical Racing | Bryce Fullwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.0076 |
24 | 22 | PremiAir Coca Cola Racing | Chris Pither | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.0537 |
25 | 4 | SCT Logistics Racing | Jack Smith | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.4884 |