Waters claims Armor All Sandown 500 pole

Cameron Waters has claimed the Armor All pole position for Sunday’s Wilson Security Sandown 500 after taking victory in the second Race to the Grid heat.

The former Dunlop Super2 Series winner made the most of a stellar start from third to take control of the race in the #6 Prodrive Ford, which he is sharing with Kiwi Richie Stanaway.

Waters was shadowed throughout by championship leader Scott McLaughlin in the #17 Shell Ford.

However, the Monster Energy backed driver held his nerve to take the race win and claim his second career Supercars pole.

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McLaughlin and co-driver Alex Premat will start alongside the Ford after finishing second, while the David Reynolds/Luke Youlden Erebus Motorsport entry secured third.

Waters produced a stunning getaway from the line that allowed him to dive down the inside of David Reynolds and Scott McLaughlin to take the lead at Turn 1.

Jamie Whincup moved up to fourth ahead of Fabian Coulthard, while Dale Wood jumped up to sixth from ninth on the grid.

Meanwhile, smoke began to pour from Craig Lowndes’ Triple Eight Holden which eventually resulted in a retirement on lap 6 due to a power steering issue.

The top four remained unchanged despite McLaughlin offering a strong challenge in the DJR Team Penske Falcon.

A hard charging Jamie Whincup finished fourth to claim a second row starting berth for the #88 Red Holden, that he will drive alongside Paul Dumbrell.

Whincup tried to pass Reynolds on the final lap but was unable to make the move stick.

After dropping to eighth, Chaz Mostert produced an impressive recovery drive to claim fifth and a place on the third row for he and Steve Owen.

Fabian Coulthard/Tony D’Alberto (#12 Shell V-Power Racing) will start sixth ahead of the Dale Wood/Chris Pither Erebus Holden.

Garry Rogers Motorsport’s Garth Tander came home in eighth ahead of Mark Winterbottom (Prodrive) and Nick Percat (Brad Jones Racing).

Title contender Shane van Gisbergen will start Sunday’s race from 19th on the grid in the #97 Red Bull Holden.

Meanwhile, Jason Bright was unable to take the start in his #56 Prodrive Falcon after a starter motor problem.

The entry returned to the fray two laps into the race before going on to finish in 23rd spot.

Tekno Autosports’ entry for Will Davison and Jonathon Webb was absent from the grid along with the #4 Brad Jones Racing Holden for Tim Blanchard and Todd Hazelwood, following a huge crash in the earlier co-driver race.

The Supercars field will return for a 20 minute warm-up on Sunday at 0940 AEST, ahead of the showpiece Sandown 500 at 1315.

Results: Virgin Australia Supercars Championship Wilson Security Sandown 500 Race to the Grid 2

1	Monster Energy Racing	Cameron Waters	Ford Falcon FG/X	19	22:01.9137
2	Shell V-Power Racing Team	Scott McLaughlin	Ford Falcon FG/X	19	22:02.3344
3	Erebus Penrite Racing	David Reynolds	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:03.3094
4	Red Bull Holden Racing Aust	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:03.7734
5	Supercheap Auto Racing	Chaz Mostert	Ford Falcon FG/X	19	22:07.4566
6	Shell V-Power Racing Team	Fabian Coulthard	Ford Falcon FG/X	19	22:08.7038
7	Erebus GB Galvanizing Racing	Dale Wood	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:09.7386
8	Wilson Security Racing GRM	Garth Tander	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:10.5215
9	The Bottle-O Racing Team	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Falcon FG/X	19	22:11.2200
10	Mongrel Boots Racing	Nick Percat	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:14.0036
11	Nissan Motorsport	Michael Caruso	Nissan Altima	19	22:14.7869
12	Preston Hire Racing	Lee Holdsworth	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:15.1024
13	Sengled Racing	Rick Kelly	Nissan Altima	19	22:17.1743
14	Mobil 1 HSV Racing	James Courtney	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:17.5305
15	Mobil 1 HSV Racing	Scott Pye	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:18.3748
16	Wilson Security Racing GRM	James Moffat	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:18.9707
17	Freightliner Racing	Tim Slade	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:19.2891
18	carsales Racing	Todd Kelly	Nissan Altima	19	22:19.7167
19	Red Bull Holden Racing Aust	Shane Van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:20.6046
20	Plus Fitness Racing	Aaren Russell	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:26.7329
21	Repair Management Aust Racing	Alex Rullo	Holden Commodore VF	19	22:31.3867
22	Team Harvey Norman	Simona De Silvestro	Nissan Altima	19	22:33.4409
23	MEGA Racing	Jason Bright	Ford Falcon FG/X	17	22:55.9012
DNF	TeamVortex	Craig Lowndes	Holden Commodore VF	5	5:55.1457