Will Davison will start all three V8 Supercars Championship races in Abu Dhabi this weekend from pole position after an impressive qualifying run from the Trading Post FPR Falcon.
In a unique format adopted for the weekend, each driver’s three fastest times set the grids for Races 24, 25 and 26 respectively.
While Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen swapped the top spot for 18 of the 20 minutes, Davison moved to the top with 2:11.77s on his penultimate lap before clocking 2:12.41s on his final attempt.
Those two times combined with a 2:11.93s set on his second of three runs to ensure the factor Ford driver the triple-pole.
The results mean that Davison jumps from a season tally of five pole positions to eight, two clear of previous benchmark Whincup.
Remarkably, Whincup and Van Gisbergen will start second and third in each of the three races.
The TeamVodafone driver’s fastest lap proved just 0.12s off of Davison’s best and came on the first lap of his second run. A subsequent set-up change prior to the final outing then appeared to hamper Whincup, who ended the session by running a 2:12.27s followed by a pair of 2:15s.
Davison’s title-contending team-mate Mark Winterbottom had a solid if unspectacular 20 minutes, qualifying seventh, fifth and seventh for the three 12 lap races.
It was a strong session for all three Stone Brothers Racing Falcons, with Lee Holdsworth and Tim Slade set to join team-mate Van Gisbergen in starting from within the top 10 in each race. The SBR Fords were the ‘single lap bandits’ of the session, recording all but one of their cumulative nine grid-setting times on first flying laps following tyre changes.
It was also an encouraging outing for Team Norton DJR’s James Moffat, who is set to start from a career best fifth in Race 26.
Greg Murphy meanwhile will start from the back in each race after mechanical gremlins in the #51 Pepsi Holden continued to dog the car in qualifying.
See below for the full Race 24 grid
| 1 | Trading Post FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 2:11.7660R | |
| 2 | TeamVodafone | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:11.8850r | 0:00.1190 |
| 3 | SP Tools Racing | Shane Van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.2550r | 0:00.4890 |
| 4 | Lucky 7 Racing | Tim Slade | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.2630r | 0:00.4970 |
| 5 | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.4170r | 0:00.6510 |
| 6 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.4860r | 0:00.7200 |
| 7 | Orrcon Steel FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.5730r | 0:00.8070 |
| 8 | Tekno Autosports | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.5800r | 0:00.8140 |
| 9 | TeamVodafone | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.6870r | 0:00.9210 |
| 10 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.6880r | 0:00.9220 |
| 11 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.7080r | 0:00.9420 |
| 12 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.7300r | 0:00.9640 |
| 13 | Tekno Autosports | Michael Patrizi | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.7830r | 0:01.0170 |
| 14 | Team Norton DJR | James Moffat | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.8140r | 0:01.0480 |
| 15 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.8790r | 0:01.1130 |
| 16 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Alexandre Premat | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.9000r | 0:01.1340 |
| 17 | Kelly Racing | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.9170r | 0:01.1510 |
| 18 | Team Hiflex | Tony D’Alberto | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.9330r | 0:01.1670 |
| 19 | VIP Petfoods | Steve Owen | Ford Falcon FG | 2:13.0090r | 0:01.2430 |
| 20 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.1840r | 0:01.4180 |
| 21 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.2800r | 0:01.5140 |
| 22 | Dick Johnson Racing | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon FG | 2:13.4570r | 0:01.6910 |
| 23 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.5450r | 0:01.7790 |
| 24 | Dick Johnson Racing | Dean Fiore | Ford Falcon FG | 2:13.6880r | 0:01.9220 |
| 25 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.8880 | 0:02.1220 |
| 26 | Team iSelect | Taz Douglas | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:14.4450 | 0:02.6790 |
| 27 | Kelly Racing | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:14.4590 | 0:02.6930 |
| 28 | Pepsi Max Crew | Greg Murphy | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:21.5670 | 0:09.8010 |
See below for the full Race 25 grid
| 1 | Trading Post FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 2:11.9280r | |
| 2 | TeamVodafone | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.2720r | 0:00.3440 |
| 3 | SP Tools Racing | Shane Van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.5240r | 0:00.5960 |
| 4 | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.5960r | 0:00.6680 |
| 5 | Orrcon Steel FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.6010r | 0:00.6730 |
| 6 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.6760r | 0:00.7480 |
| 7 | Tekno Autosports | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.6840r | 0:00.7560 |
| 8 | Lucky 7 Racing | Tim Slade | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.7480r | 0:00.8200 |
| 9 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.7780r | 0:00.8500 |
| 10 | Team Norton DJR | James Moffat | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.8620r | 0:00.9340 |
| 11 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.8630r | 0:00.9350 |
| 12 | TeamVodafone | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.9540r | 0:01.0260 |
| 13 | Kelly Racing | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.9730r | 0:01.0450 |
| 14 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.0670r | 0:01.1390 |
| 15 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.2550r | 0:01.3270 |
| 16 | Team Hiflex | Tony D’Alberto | Ford Falcon FG | 2:13.2710r | 0:01.3430 |
| 17 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.2930r | 0:01.3650 |
| 18 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Alexandre Premat | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.3580r | 0:01.4300 |
| 19 | VIP Petfoods | Steve Owen | Ford Falcon FG | 2:13.3730r | 0:01.4450 |
| 20 | Dick Johnson Racing | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon FG | 2:13.5240r | 0:01.5960 |
| 21 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.7360 | 0:01.8080 |
| 22 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.7760 | 0:01.8480 |
| 23 | Dick Johnson Racing | Dean Fiore | Ford Falcon FG | 2:13.7880 | 0:01.8600 |
| 24 | Tekno Autosports | Michael Patrizi | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:14.0910 | 0:02.1630 |
| 25 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:14.3970 | 0:02.4690 |
| 26 | Team iSelect | Taz Douglas | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:14.4530 | 0:02.5250 |
| 27 | Kelly Racing | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:14.6890 | 0:02.7610 |
| 28 | Pepsi Max Crew | Greg Murphy | Holden Commodore VE2 | 4:17.3500 | 2:05.4220 |
See below for the full Race 26 grid
| 1 | Trading Post FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.2410r | |
| 2 | TeamVodafone | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.5990r | 0:00.3580 |
| 3 | SP Tools Racing | Shane Van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.6100r | 0:00.3690 |
| 4 | Lucky 7 Racing | Tim Slade | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.9150r | 0:00.6740 |
| 5 | Team Norton DJR | James Moffat | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.9190r | 0:00.6780 |
| 6 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.9520r | 0:00.7110 |
| 7 | Orrcon Steel FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 2:12.9580r | 0:00.7170 |
| 8 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:12.9910r | 0:00.7500 |
| 9 | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Falcon FG | 2:13.0770r | 0:00.8360 |
| 10 | Kelly Racing | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.1170r | 0:00.8760 |
| 11 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.1300r | 0:00.8890 |
| 12 | TeamVodafone | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.2270r | 0:00.9860 |
| 13 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Alexandre Premat | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.3890r | 0:01.1480 |
| 14 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.3960r | 0:01.1550 |
| 15 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.4760r | 0:01.2350 |
| 16 | Team Hiflex | Tony D’Alberto | Ford Falcon FG | 2:13.4910r | 0:01.2500 |
| 17 | VIP Petfoods | Steve Owen | Ford Falcon FG | 2:13.5560r | 0:01.3150 |
| 18 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.6480r | 0:01.4070 |
| 19 | Tekno Autosports | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.7250 | 0:01.4840 |
| 20 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.8840 | 0:01.6430 |
| 21 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.9280 | 0:01.6870 |
| 22 | Dick Johnson Racing | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon FG | 2:14.0290 | 0:01.7880 |
| 23 | Dick Johnson Racing | Dean Fiore | Ford Falcon FG | 2:14.2200 | 0:01.9790 |
| 24 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:14.6700 | 0:02.4290 |
| 25 | Team iSelect | Taz Douglas | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:14.6810 | 0:02.4400 |
| 26 | Kelly Racing | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:14.7580 | 0:02.5170 |
| 27 | Tekno Autosports | Michael Patrizi | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:15.0320 | 0:02.7910 |
| 28 | Pepsi Max Crew | Greg Murphy | Holden Commodore VE2 |
See below for Speedcafe.com’s Abu Dhabi Race Guide
