Mark Winterbottom will start Race 32 of the V8 Supercars Championship from pole position after coming out on top in a thrilling qualifying session at Phillip Island.
The Ford Performance Racing driver sat just 27th when the chequered flag fell before vaulting to the top with a 1:30.61s effort on his final lap.
The time is the fastest ever for a V8 Supercar around Phillip Island, securing Winterbottom a 28th career pole.
Winterbottom’s title rivals Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup and Will Davison were also outside the top 20 with just 30 seconds on the clock.
Lowndes managed to jump temporarily to the top before ending up second, while Whincup and Davison could manage just 13th and 10th respectively.
Garth Tander and Alex Davison will share the second row ahead of Chaz Mostert, Fabian Coulthard, Shane van Gisbergen, Jason Bright and David Reynolds.
Secure your spot today.
The session started in sunny but wet conditions. Grooved rubber was required until the halfway mark; at which point Van Gisbergen was fastest.
Several endured incidents during the final 10 minutes of slick tyre running. Fabian Coulthard and Jamie Whincup both speared off in separate incidents at Turn 2, but crucially managed to rejoin without causing a red flag.
James Moffat also found himself recovering from the Turn 2 grass after a wild moment at Turn 1. The Norton Nissan driver ended the 20 minutes a frustrated 27th.
The afternoon’s 60/60 Super Sprint will get underway at 1545 local time.
See below for the full qualifying result
| 1 | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 1:30.60 | |
| 2 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 1:31.11 | 00.50 |
| 3 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 1:31.14 | 00.53 |
| 4 | Jeld-wen FPR Ford | Alex Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:31.16 | 00.55 |
| 5 | Wilson Security Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | 1:31.19 | 00.58 |
| 6 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VF | 1:31.38 | 00.77 |
| 7 | TEKNO Team VIP Petfoods | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 1:31.39 | 00.78 |
| 8 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 1:31.41 | 00.80 |
| 9 | The Bottle-O FPR Ford | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 1:31.53 | 00.92 |
| 10 | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:31.58 | 00.97 |
| 11 | Wilson Security Racing | Tim Blanchard | Ford Falcon FG | 1:31.63 | 01.02 |
| 12 | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:31.68 | 01.07 |
| 13 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 1:31.69 | 01.08 |
| 14 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VF | 1:31.72 | 01.11 |
| 15 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 1:31.75 | 01.14 |
| 16 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:31.82 | 01.21 |
| 17 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Holden Commodore VF | 1:31.83 | 01.22 |
| 18 | Norton Hornets | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 1:31.87 | 01.26 |
| 19 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Alexandre Premat | Holden Commodore VF | 1:31.98 | 01.37 |
| 20 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:31.99 | 01.38 |
| 21 | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VF | 1:32.07 | 01.46 |
| 22 | Team HIFLEX | Tony D’Alberto | Holden Commodore VF | 1:32.15 | 01.54 |
| 23 | TEKNO Team Darrell Lea | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VF | 1:32.33 | 01.72 |
| 24 | Dodo Insurance Racing | Dean Fiore | Holden Commodore VF | 1:32.48 | 01.87 |
| 25 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VF | 1:32.48 | 01.87 |
| 26 | Heavy Haulage Australia Racing | Tim Slade | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:32.49 | 01.88 |
| 27 | Norton Hornets | James Moffat | Nissan Altima | 1:32.74 | 02.13 |
| 28 | SP Tools Racing | Maro Engel | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:33.51 | 02.90 |
