Garth Tander grabs V8 Supercars pole at damp Barbagallo

Pole changed hands repeatedly in the closing moments as track conditions improved at the Perth venue, before Holden Racing Team driver Tander claimed the top spot with a 1m02.1974s lap.

Tander usurped Brad Jones Racing's Jason Bright, who was just 0.0751 seconds slower.

Reigning champion Jamie Whincup took third for Triple Eight, sharing row two with Jonathon Webb after a very strong run from the Tekno driver. Whincup's team-mate Craig Lowndes was one of the men wrong-footed in the final scramble and will start only 16th.

Ford Performance Racing - the leading team so far this season - saw Mark Winterbottom and satellite driver David Reynolds claim the row three spots, while championship leader Will Davison ended up ninth in its #6 car.

Fabian Coulthard (Brad Jones Racing) held provisional pole for a spell but was pushed back to seventh. For former champion James Courtney in the second HRT entry, eighth place marked a significant upturn in qualifying form. Lee Holdsworth completed the top 10 for Stone Brothers Ford.

Race one takes place later on Saturday afternoon, with two more qualifying sessions and races scheduled for Sunday.

Pos  Driver               Team/Car             Time        Gap
 1.  Garth Tander         HRT Holden           1m02.1974s
 2.  Jason Bright         Brad Jones Holden    1m02.2725s  + 0.0751s
 3.  Jamie Whincup        Triple 8 Holden      1m02.3046s  + 0.1072s
 4.  Jonathon Webb        Tekno Holden         1m02.3631s  + 0.1657s
 5.  Mark Winterbottom    FPR Ford             1m02.3770s  + 0.1796s
 6.  David Reynolds       Rod Nash/FPR Ford    1m02.4301s  + 0.2327s
 7.  Fabian Coulthard     Brad Jones Holden    1m02.4711s  + 0.2737s
 8.  James Courtney       HRT Holden           1m02.5026s  + 0.3052s
 9.  Will Davison         FPR Ford             1m02.5549s  + 0.3575s
10.  Lee Holdsworth       Stone Brothers Ford  1m02.5972s  + 0.3998s
11.  Steven Johnson       Dick Johnson Ford    1m02.8920s  + 0.6946s
12.  Steve Owen           Dick Johnson Ford    1m02.9216s  + 0.7242s
13.  Todd Kelly           Kelly Holden         1m02.9493s  + 0.7519s
14.  Shane van Gisbergen  Stone Brothers Ford  1m02.9765s  + 0.7791s
15.  Rick Kelly           Kelly Holden         1m02.9903s  + 0.7929s
16.  Craig Lowndes        Triple 8 Holden      1m03.0088s  + 0.8114s
17.  Greg Murphy          Kelly Holden         1m03.0675s  + 0.8701s
18.  Tim Slade            Rosenberg/SBR Ford   1m03.1689s  + 0.9715s
19.  Dean Fiore           Triple F Ford        1m03.2129s  + 1.0155s
20.  James Moffat         Dick Johnson Ford    1m03.2521s  + 1.0547s
21.  Michael Caruso       Garry Rogers Holden  1m03.2670s  + 1.0696s
22.  Russell Ingall       Walkinshaw Holden    1m03.3093s  + 1.1119s
23.  Tony D'Alberto       D'Alberto Ford       1m03.4322s  + 1.2348s
24.  Taz Douglas          Dumbrell Holden      1m03.5773s  + 1.3799s
25.  Alexandre Premat     Garry Rogers Holden  1m03.6266s  + 1.4292s
26.  Michael Patrizi      Tekno Holden         1m03.6371s  + 1.4397s
27.  David Wall           Britek/BJR Holden    1m03.8028s  + 1.6054s
28.  Karl Reindler        Kelly Holden         1m03.8624s  + 1.6650s