Tander takes Holden back to the front

Garth Tander has taken pole position for Race 5 of the V8 Supercars Championship at the ITM400 Hamilton in New Zealand.

The Holden Racing Team ace topped the Top 10 Shootout, setting a 1m22.3968s to beat Kiwi ace Shane van Gisbergen to the ARMOR ALL Pole Award.

"The track's a lot faster when it's cooler but this was the warmest it's been all weekend," said Tander, who claimed his second Hamilton pole and the 27th of his career.

"The guys have been working really hard. It's a great reward for the boys.

"It's great to qualify up the front here because there's so much going on here. Pole is fantastic."

David Reynolds qualified an equal career-best third in The Bottle-O Ford and will share the second row of the grid with Jamie Whincup.

Steve Owen was a strong fifth, while fellow Dick Johnson Racing pilot James Moffat wasn't so lucky and cut the turn 4 chicane, thus losing his time.

Shane Van Gisbergen

Photo by: Edge Photographics

Mark Winterbottom also tripped over the beacon and had his time scrubbed, so the duo will share the fifth row of the grid for this afternoon's race.

A mistake at turn 1 ruined Craig Lowndes' lap even before it had really got rolling, the three-time champion ending up eighth in the order.

The cars and drivers will return to the circuit for Race 5 of the championship at 3.00pm local time (1.00pm AEST).