Townsville Supercars: Whincup, Waters split Sunday poles
Jamie Whincup and Cam Waters took a pole position each from the back-to-back qualifying sessions in Townsville.
Whincup will start the first of two races today from pole after getting the best of difficult conditions for the opening 10-minute session.
Oil left behind by a support category competitor meant the track evolution was significant, Whincup's 1m13.218s proving just good enough to edge teammate Shane van Gisbergen by 0.06s.
Chaz Mostert was third quickest ahead of Will Davison and David Reynolds, while Waters went purple in Sector 1 on his final run but couldn't do better than sixth.
Anton De Pasquale was the big surprise of the first session, yesterday's polesitter mistiming his final run and ending up 14th on the grid.
Waters then made good on the glimpses of pace in the first session by grabbing pole in the second session.
Once again the margins were tight and once again it was van Gisbergen that just missed out, the gap between him and Waters just 0.016s.
"We turned the car on its head and it's a totally different race car this weekend," said Waters. "I didn't do a good enough job in Q1 this morning, but we tuned her up for Q2 and managed to get the pole."
De Pasquale was third ahead of Davison and Todd Hazelwood, while Whincup could only manage sixth.
Reynolds capped off a solid morning with seventh in the second session while Mostert went backwards and qualified just 12th.
Qualifying Race 2
| Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 |  Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.218 | ||
| 2 | 97 |  Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.287 | 0.069 | 0.069 |
| 3 | 25 | Chaz Mostert | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.406 | 0.187 | 0.118 |
| 4 | 17 | Will Davison | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.511 | 0.292 | 0.105 |
| 5 | 26 | David Reynolds | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.555 | 0.337 | 0.044 |
| 6 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.604 | 0.385 | 0.048 |
| 7 | 9 | Will Brown | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.648 | 0.429 | 0.044 |
| 8 | 99 | Brodie Kostecki | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.655 | 0.437 | 0.007 |
| 9 | 2 | Bryce Fullwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.665 | 0.446 | 0.009 |
| 10 | 14 | Todd Hazelwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.706 | 0.488 | 0.041 |
| 11 | 20 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.764 | 0.545 | 0.057 |
| 12 | 8 | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.779 | 0.560 | 0.014 |
| 13 | 35 | Zane Goddard | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.832 | 0.614 | 0.053 |
| 14 | 11 | Anton De Pasquale | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.863 | 0.645 | 0.030 |
| 15 | 18 | Mark Winterbottom | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.913 | 0.695 | 0.050 |
| 16 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.918 | 0.700 | 0.004 |
| 17 | 22 | Garry Jacobson | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.939 | 0.721 | 0.021 |
| 18 | 96 | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.978 | 0.759 | 0.038 |
| 19 | 19 | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'14.045 | 0.826 | 0.066 |
| 20 | 34 | Jake Kostecki | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'14.046 | 0.827 | 0.001 |
| 21 | 44 | James Courtney | Ford Mustang GT | 1'14.091 | 0.873 | 0.045 |
| 22 | 4 | Jack Smith | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'14.128 | 0.910 | 0.036 |
| 23 | 5 | Jack Le Brocq | Ford Mustang GT | 1'14.236 | 1.017 | 0.107 |
| 3 | Tim Slade | Ford Mustang GT | ||||
| View full results | ||||||
Qualifying Race 3
| Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Ford Mustang GT | 1'12.814 | ||
| 2 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'12.830 | 0.016 | 0.016 |
| 3 | 11 | Anton De Pasquale | Ford Mustang GT | 1'12.933 | 0.118 | 0.102 |
| 4 | 17 | Will Davison | Ford Mustang GT | 1'12.937 | 0.122 | 0.004 |
| 5 | 14 | Todd Hazelwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.010 | 0.196 | 0.073 |
| 6 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.024 | 0.209 | 0.013 |
| 7 | 26 | David Reynolds | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.081 | 0.266 | 0.057 |
| 8 | 96 | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.149 | 0.334 | 0.068 |
| 9 | 44 | James Courtney | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.160 | 0.345 | 0.010 |
| 10 | 2 | Bryce Fullwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.163 | 0.349 | 0.003 |
| 11 | 8 | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.184 | 0.369 | 0.020 |
| 12 | 25 | Chaz Mostert | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.205 | 0.390 | 0.021 |
| 13 | 18 | Mark Winterbottom | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.258 | 0.444 | 0.053 |
| 14 | 99 | Brodie Kostecki | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.285 | 0.471 | 0.027 |
| 15 | 20 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.298 | 0.483 | 0.012 |
| 16 | 5 | Jack Le Brocq | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.363 | 0.548 | 0.064 |
| 17 | 22 | Garry Jacobson | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.527 | 0.712 | 0.164 |
| 18 | 9 | Will Brown | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.557 | 0.742 | 0.030 |
| 19 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.563 | 0.749 | 0.006 |
| 20 | 3 | Tim Slade | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.582 | 0.768 | 0.018 |
| 21 | 35 | Zane Goddard | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.597 | 0.782 | 0.014 |
| 22 | 34 | Jake Kostecki | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.660 | 0.845 | 0.062 |
| 23 | 4 | Jack Smith | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.792 | 0.977 | 0.132 |
| 24 | 19 | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'14.019 | 1.204 | 0.226 |
| View full results | ||||||
Related video
Queensland Raceway to host next Supercars round
Townsville Supercars: Van Gisbergen wins all-Triple Eight thriller
Holdsworth in contention for BRT seat
Lee Holdsworth is among the drivers in contention to replace Tim Slade at the Blanchard Racing Team next season.
PremiAir signs Hill for Bathurst
PremiAir Racing has signed Super2 rookie Cameron Hill for the 2022 Bathurst 1000.
Slade linked to PremiAir switch
Tim Slade will part ways with Blanchard Racing Team at the end of the current Supercars season with PremiAir Racing his expected destination.
Supercars powerhouse Triple Eight Race Engineering has unveiled an updated logo as part of a rebranding effort.
Why Courtney and Tickford are a dream match
James Courtney has been around the block in his motorsport career it's fair to say. After a single-seater career cut short, he's won everything there is to win in Supercars. Following a rocky ride recently in the Australian category, he's found a happy hunting ground with Tickford Racing.
How taming his temper shaped Supercars' slow-burn star
His decision to leave Brad Jones Racing was the biggest shock of the Australian Supercars silly season so far. But for Nick Percat, it comes as the culmination of a personal journey that has made him into one of the most rounded drivers in the series, now in search of a seat that can make him a champion
Why replacing Supercars' GOAT with a teenager is worth the risk for T8
On the face of it, picking an 18-year-old rookie to replace arguably the greatest Supercars driver of all time is a risky move. But as Jamie Whincup takes up a team principal role and hands his car to Broc Feeney, it's one that he is confident will be rewarded in the fullness of time - time which wasn't afforded to Whincup in his early days
How Randle went from fighting cancer to battling for Supercars contention
After his fledgling career was paused by a battle with testicular cancer, Thomas Randle then had to wrestle with finding a drive in Supercars after he got the all-clear. It's been a long road for the Melbourne native but, after two lengthy battles, he's finally got a full-time drive to look forward to
How crisis talks over Supercars’ Gen3 future could leave it without a paddle
With Supercars’ Gen3 era on the horizon, a shift is set to take place – in more ways than one – but, as has become clear in recent weeks, the plan to bin the stick and use paddles with electronic assisted shift has been met with fierce opposition
Can DJR still be a Supercars powerhouse after Penske?
Roger Penske's whirlwind Australian Supercars sojourn is over. After six seasons, three drivers' titles, three teams' championships and a Bathurst 1000 crown, The Captain has sold his controlling stake in Dick Johnson Racing back to the squad and walked away from the category.
Can Whincup be Triple Eight's ruthless leader?
Supercars' most successful team of the past 15 years is set for a radical shakeup next year when Jamie Whincup retires from driving and takes over the reins at Triple Eight. But does he have what it takes to be the new Roland Dane?
Why Supercars now needs a new "human salt harvester"
Scott McLaughlin has been a controversial figure in Supercars over the past few years but, as he heads off to a fresh challenge in IndyCar, the Australian tin-top series needs to find someone else to fill his drama-filled boots as the category enters a new era...