Whincup scores provisional Townsville pole
TeamVodafone's Jamie Whincup
Jamie Whincup will be the last man out in this afternoon’s Top 10 Shootout in Townsville after topping Race 14 qualifying.
The frantic 20 minute qualifying session saw the TeamVodafone driver’s best of 1:12.93s emerge 0.12s clear of the Toll HRT’s Garth Tander, who was one of the few drivers to improve on his last set of tyres in the final five minutes.
Mark Winterbottom (Orrcon Steel FPR) was third having run wide at Turn 3 on his last effort while scything his way through traffic.
Rick Kelly (Jack Daniel’s Racing) was fourth, ahead of Craig Lowndes (TeamVodafone), Will Davison (Trading Post FPR), Steven Johnson (Jim Beam Racing), David Reynolds (Stratco Racing), Lee Holdsworth (Fujitsu Racing) and Steve Owen (VIP Petfoods Racing).
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Owen spun early in the session while negotiating the final complex of corners, before pipping Fabian Coulthard (Bundaberg Racing) for the final shootout slot as the chequered flag fell.
James Courtney’s qualifying woes continued – the Toll HRT star struggling with rear grip on his way to 19th fastest.
The Stone Brothers Racing entries will also start down the field, with Tim Slade (Lucky 7) 20th, Shane van Gisbergen (SP Tools ) 22nd and Alex Davison (IRWIN Tools) 26th.
The top 10 shootout gets underway at 12:15 local time.
See below for the full qualifying result
| 1 | TeamVodafone | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:12.9282* | |
| 2 | Toll Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.0529 | 0:00.1247 |
| 3 | Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 1:13.0832 | 0:00.1550 |
| 4 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.1045 | 0:00.1763 |
| 5 | TeamVodafone | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.1363 | 0:00.2081 |
| 6 | Trading Post FPR Falcon | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:13.1923 | 0:00.2641 |
| 7 | Jim Beam Racing | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon FG | 1:13.1923 | 0:00.2641 |
| 8 | Stratco Racing | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.2031 | 0:00.2749 |
| 9 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.2717 | 0:00.3435 |
| 10 | VIP Petfoods | Steve Owen | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.2768 | 0:00.3486 |
| 11 | Bundaberg Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.2894 | 0:00.3612 |
| 12 | Mother Energy Racing Team | Jonathon Webb | Ford Falcon FG | 1:13.3499 | 0:00.4217 |
| 13 | Jana Living Racing | Jason Bargwanna | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.3515 | 0:00.4233 |
| 14 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.3909 | 0:00.4627 |
| 15 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Paul Dumbrell | Ford Falcon FG | 1:13.4877 | 0:00.5595 |
| 16 | Jim Beam Racing | James Moffat | Ford Falcon FG | 1:13.4892 | 0:00.5610 |
| 17 | Pepsi Max Crew | Greg Murphy | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.5025 | 0:00.5743 |
| 18 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.5053 | 0:00.5771 |
| 19 | Toll Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.5119 | 0:00.5837 |
| 20 | Lucky 7 Racing | Tim Slade | Ford Falcon FG | 1:13.5184 | 0:00.5902 |
| 21 | Team Boc | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.5220 | 0:00.5938 |
| 22 | SP Tools Racing | Shane Van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon FG | 1:13.5295 | 0:00.6013 |
| 23 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.5611 | 0:00.6329 |
| 24 | Wilson Security Racing | Tony D’Alberto | Ford Falcon FG | 1:13.6126 | 0:00.6844 |
| 25 | R and T Pumps | Dean Fiore | Ford Falcon FG | 1:13.7110 | 0:00.7828 |
| 26 | Irwin Racing | Alex Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:13.7794 | 0:00.8512 |
| 27 | Gulf Western Oil Racing | Warren Luff | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:13.9782 | 0:01.0500 |
| 28 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:14.1916 | 0:01.2634 |
See below for Speedcafe.com’s Townsville V8 Race Guide