Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters has provisional pole position for the opening race of the NTI Townsville 500 while Repco Supercars Championship leader Brodie Kostecki has missed the Top 10 Shootout.
Waters set a 1:13.3207s in the #6 Monster Energy Ford Mustang on his final lap in Qualifying for Race 16 to beat Grove Racing’s Matt Payne in the #19 Penrite Mustang by 0.1443s.
Will Brown was best of the Chevrolet drivers in third while his Erebus Motorsport team-mate Brodie Kostecki is locked into 15th on the starting grid in the #99 Coca-Cola Camaro.
Under Townsville skies which were more sunny than the day before, Broc Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) rolled out with the fastest first flyer in the 15-minute session, a 1:14.3087s.
It was an all-Erebus top two once most had completed a run, Kostecki on a 1:13.9206s and Brown (#9 Coca-Cola Camaro) on a 1:14.0669s, with David Reynolds (#26 Penrite Mustang) third and Chaz Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang) fourth.
Practice pace-setter Jack Le Brocq ran somewhat off-sequence however, and jumped to the top in the #34 Truck Assist Camaro once he got into his first run, on a 1:13.8262s.
He was usurped by Waters (#6 Monster Energy Mustang) on a 1:13.8125s before rookie Payne clocked a 1:13.5186s around the Reid Park Street Circuit.
Ahead of the final runs, Shane van Gisbergen (#97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) was outside the Shootout cut-off in 12th after an off at Turn 7, while Brown sat 14th and Feeney only 20th.
Feeney then jumped to second on a 1:13.6766s and van Gisbergen to third on a 1:13.7427s, before Brown was back on top on a 1:13.4660s.
With the chequered flag out, Le Brocq clocked a 1:13.5498s to get back as high as third, before Waters jumped up from eighth to the very top.
Waters’ previous lap had been the aforementioned 1:13.8125s and it was just as well that he found an improvement considering the shuffling which was still unfolding.
Mostert bumped Scott Pye (#20 Hino Camaro) when he moved to seventh on a 1:13.7406s before James Golding (#31 Nulon Camaro) knocked Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang) out with a 1:13.6467s which put him sixth.
Last to be relegated from the Shootout was Bryce Fullwood (#14 Middy’s Camaro) when Reynolds jumped seven positions to eighth on a 1:13.6889s.
The top of the order thus ended up as Waters, Payne, Brown, Le Brocq, Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang) on a 1:13.6148s, Golding, Feeney, Reynolds, and Mostert in ninth.
Van Gisbergen survived in 10th on that 1:13.7427s by a margin of just 0.0650s over Fullwood, who is set to start 11th, with De Pasquale alongside.
Kostecki’s best would be a 1:13.9206s and he is set to share Row 8 with James Courtney (#5 Snowy River Caravans Mustang), while Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro) ended up a spot further back in 17th.
The Top 10 Shootout for Race 16 starts at 12:00 local time/AEST.
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