Winterbottom led a Prodrive one-two in qualifying
Mark Winterbottom edged team-mate Chaz Mostert to record a commanding one-two result for Prodrive in qualifying at Albert Park.
A 1:56.05s effort saw Winterbottom move a scant 0.03s clear of Mostert with just 90 seconds of the 30 minute session remaining.
The result was an emphatic way for Ford to end its V8 Supercars pole drought, which stretched back to November, 2013.
The Holden Racing Team’s James Courtney proved the best of the rest in third, a full 0.3s adrift of pole.
Prodrive’s strong day, which had seen their cars top both practice sessions, was completed with a fourth place qualifying performance from David Reynolds.
Whincup starts ninth after this mistake on his final tyre set
“The team has done an incredible job, it’s been an awesome day,” said Winterbottom.
“We’ve topped every session between us and I’ve got the right one which is nice because I haven’t had a pole for such a long time.
“The car is really good. We always thought we had a good car on high speed tracks, but Adelaide proved a bit of a challenge in terms of a lower speed layout.
“But if we can improve where we’re already good and tinker away at the slow speed ones we should be in for a good year.
“You’ve got to enjoy the results when you get them and I’m just rapt to get a pole position again.”
Kiwis Shane van Gisbergen, Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard filled fifth through seventh, ahead of Tim Slade, Jamie Whincup and Todd Kelly.
Whincup sat just 17th as the chequered flag flew after running off at Turn 1 on the first lap with his final set of tyres.
The Red Bull star rescued ninth with a second lap to end up four places clear of team-mate Craig Lowndes.
“I hit the brakes and she locked up, so I’ll put my hand up for that one,” rued Whincup.
“It’s not really the place I wanted to start, but that’s life and we’ll see if we can pick a few off in the race.”
Todd Kelly was meanwhile just 0.04s ahead of brother Rick in the battle for top Nissan honours.
Stable-mate Michael Caruso’s horror day with his new car continued as the #23 Altima again failed to complete a flying lap due to electrical issues, despite a pre-session engine change.
“We’ll figure it out tonight but we haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet,” said Nissan Motorsport’s Scott Sinclair of the issue. “It’s one of those pesky electrical dramas that no one can see.”
The V8 Supercars will take to the track for two races tomorrow, with Race 1 at 1420 and Race 2 scheduled for 1820.
Result: V8 Supercars Qualifying, Albert Park
1
|
Pepsi Max Crew
|
Mark Winterbottom
|
Ford Falcon FG/X
|
01:56.05
|
|
2
|
Pepsi Max Crew
|
Chaz Mostert
|
Ford Falcon FG/X
|
01:56.08
|
00:00.03
|
3
|
Holden Racing Team
|
James Courtney
|
Holden Commodore VF
|
01:56.34
|
00:00.29
|
4
|
The Bottle-O Racing Team
|
David Reynolds
|
Ford Falcon FG/X
|
01:56.42
|
00:00.37
|
5
|
Team Darrell Lea STIX
|
Shane Van Gisbergen
|
Holden Commodore VF
|
01:56.44
|
00:00.39
|
6
|
Wilson Security Racing GRM
|
Scott McLaughlin
|
Volvo S60
|
01:56.50
|
00:00.45
|
7
|
Freightliner Racing
|
Fabian Coulthard
|
Holden Commodore VF
|
01:56.54
|
00:00.49
|
8
|
Supercheap Auto Racing
|
Tim Slade
|
Holden Commodore VF
|
01:56.61
|
00:00.56
|
9
|
Red Bull Racing Australia
|
Jamie Whincup
|
Holden Commodore VF
|
01:56.63
|
00:00.58
|
10
|
Nissan Motorsport
|
Todd Kelly
|
Nissan Altima
|
01:56.71
|
00:00.66
|
11
|
Nissan Motorsport
|
Rick Kelly
|
Nissan Altima
|
01:56.72
|
00:00.67
|
12
|
Holden Racing Team
|
Garth Tander
|
Holden Commodore VF
|
01:56.73
|
00:00.68
|
13
|
Red Bull Racing Australia
|
Craig Lowndes
|
Holden Commodore VF
|
01:56.76
|
00:00.71
|
14
|
Nissan Mororsport
|
James Moffat
|
Nissan Altima
|
01:56.77
|
00:00.72
|
15
|
Erebus Motorsport V8
|
Will Davison
|
Mercedes E63 AMG
|
01:56.81
|
00:00.75
|
16
|
Walkinshaw Racing
|
Lee Holdsworth
|
Holden Commodore VF
|
01:56.83
|
00:00.78
|
17
|
Team BOC
|
Jason Bright
|
Holden Commodore VF
|
01:56.99
|
00:00.94
|
18
|
Repair Management Aust Racing
|
Nick Percat
|
Holden Commodore VF
|
01:57.12
|
00:01.06
|
19
|
Erebus Motorsport V8
|
Ashley Walsh
|
Mercedes E63 AMG
|
01:57.15
|
00:01.10
|
20
|
DJR Team Penske
|
Marcos Ambrose
|
Ford Falcon FG/X
|
01:57.46
|
00:01.41
|
21
|
Team GB Galvanizing
|
Dale Wood
|
Holden Commodore VF
|
01:57.59
|
00:01.53
|
22
|
Team Cooldrive
|
Tim Blanchard
|
Holden Commodore VF
|
01:57.60
|
00:01.55
|
23
|
Super Black Racing
|
Andre Heimgartner
|
Ford Falcon FG
|
01:57.74
|
00:01.68
|
24
|
Wilson Security Racing GRM
|
Chris Pither
|
Volvo S60
|
01:57.88
|
00:01.83
|
25
|
Nissan Motorsport
|
Michael Caruso
|
Nissan Altima
|
04:51.42
|
02:55.37
|
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