Reynolds scores pole for Hidden Valley finale

David Reynolds edged Fabian Coulthard to the Armor All Pole Award ahead of Race 15 of the V8 Supercars Championship at Hidden Valley.

Coulthard set a 1:06.38s benchmark at the halfway mark of the 20 minutes that almost went unbeaten.

The Bottle-O Ford driver was the only one to go faster when the entire field re-emerged on new rubber for the final minutes, eclipsing his Holden rival by 0.12s.

Amazingly, Reynolds’ lap in the hard tyre-only session proved even quicker than Rick Kelly’s Race 14 pole time on softs.

THE FINAL RACE OF THE 2023 REPCO SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP ON ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST STREET CIRCUITS.
GO ALL IN AT THE VAILO ADELAIDE 500, CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

“It’s my first pole since 2013 so its awesome for all the team as all four cars are going really well,” beamed Reynolds post-session.

“It’s credit to the guys as the car wasn’t that fast yesterday and they tuned it up overnight.”

Shane van Gisbergen and Chaz Mostert will share the second row, while Dale Wood was the surprise of the session in fifth.

Mark Winterbottom, James Courtney, Nick Percat, Jason Bright and Andre Heimgartner completed the top 10.

It was a tough session for Red Bull, with Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes ending up just 12th and 15th respectively.

Kelly’s Saturday pace disappeared as the Jack Daniel’s Nissan struggled to 17th, while Garth Tander’s troubled weekend continued in 23rd.

An off on his first green tyre lap meanwhile spelt trouble for Scott McLaughlin, who could not better 21st position in the lead Volvo.

Morning practice pace-setter Ash Walsh was even further back in 24th, struggling with understeer in his Mercedes on the hard rubber.

Result: V8 Supercars Qualifying Race 15, Hidden Valley

1	The Bottle-O Racing Team	David Reynolds	Ford Falcon FG/X	1:06.2526
2	Freightliner Racing	Fabian Coulthard	Holden Commodore VF	1:06.3773	0.12
3	Team Darrell Lea STIX	Shane Van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore VF	1:06.4253	0.17
4	Pepsi Max Crew	Chaz Mostert	Ford Falcon FG/X	1:06.4931	0.24
5	GB Galvanizing Racing	Dale Wood	Holden Commodore VF	1:06.4937	0.24
6	Pepsi Max Crew	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Falcon FG/X	1:06.5209	0.26
7	Holden Racing Team	James Courtney	Holden Commodore VF	1:06.5599	0.30
8	Repair Management Aust Racing	Nick Percat	Holden Commodore VF	1:06.5712	0.31
9	Team BOC	Jason Bright	Holden Commodore VF	1:06.5918	0.33
10	Super Black Racing	Andre Heimgartner	Ford Falcon FG/X	1:06.5955	0.34
11	Nissan Motorsport	Michael Caruso	Nissan Altima	1:06.5956	0.34
12	Red Bull Racing Australia	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore VF	1:06.5965	0.34
13	DJR Team Penske	Scott Pye	Ford Falcon FG/X	1:06.5999	0.34
14	Supercheap Auto Racing	Tim Slade	Holden Commodore VF	1:06.6013	0.34
15	Red Bull Racing Australia	Craig Lowndes	Holden Commodore VF	1:06.6091	0.35
16	Nissan Motorsport	James Moffat	Nissan Altima	1:06.6332	0.38
17	Nissan Motorsport	Rick Kelly	Nissan Altima	1:06.6822	0.42
18	Walkinshaw Racing	Lee Holdsworth	Holden Commodore VF	1:06.7482	0.49
19	Nissan Motorsport	Todd Kelly	Nissan Altima	1:06.8383	0.58
20	Erebus Motorsport V8	Will Davison	Mercedes E63 AMG	1:06.9425	0.68
21	Wilson Security Racing GRM	Scott McLaughlin	Volvo S60	1:06.9471	0.69
22	Team Cooldrive	Tim Blanchard	Holden Commodore VF	1:06.9708	0.71
23	Holden Racing Team	Garth Tander	Holden Commodore VF	1:06.9921	0.73
24	Erebus Motorsport V8	Ashley Walsh	Mercedes E63 AMG	1:07.1554	0.90
25	Wilson Security Racing GRM	David Wall	Volvo S60	1:07.6254	1.37