Will Davison and Jamie Whincup take poles for Phillip Island qualifying sprints

The first of V8 Supercars' late-season endurance events, the L&H 500 forms the prelude to the championship's Bathurst showpiece and sees the series regulars joined by co-drivers for the first time this year.

The grid for the main event will be set by the results of two short sprint races today, with each car's driver pairing taking one qualifying session and race each.

Ford Performance Racing driver Davison led Triple Eight Holden's Craig Lowndes in qualifying for sprint one, with Davison taking pole on a 1m33.1874s to beat title contender Lowndes by 0.022 seconds.

Championship leader Whincup's partner Andrew Thompson - who normally competes in V8's second-string Fujitsu series - was right on Lowndes' tail in third in Triple Eight's second Holden.

Garry Rogers Holden driver Michael Caruso had a strong run to fourth, with New Zealand V8 regular John McIntyre putting Shane van Gisbergen's Stone Brothers Ford fifth and Kelly Racing's David Reynolds maintaining his eye-catching practice form in sixth.

Times were quicker in second qualifying, where Whincup lapped in 1m32.6904s to take pole by 0.2665s over van Gisbergen. V8 hero Mark Skaife, who is sharing with Lowndes in Triple Eight's #888, qualified third.

Holden Racing Team's best qualifying result came courtesy of Fujitsu series driver Nick Percat, who took fourth for sprint two in Garth Tander's #2 car. Paul Dumbrell's Rod Nash Ford rounded out the top five on the grid for this race.

Sprint one grid:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car               Time        Gap
 1.  Will Davison        FPR Ford               1m33.1874s
 2.  Craig Lowndes       Triple 8 Holden        1m33.2094s  + 0.0022s
 3.  Andrew Thompson     Triple 8 Holden        1m33.3291s  + 0.1417s
 4.  Michael Caruso      Garry Rogers Holden    1m33.3331s  + 0.1457s
 5.  John McIntyre       Stone Brothers Ford    1m33.3885s  + 0.2011s
 6.  David Reynolds      Kelly Holden           1m33.5065s  + 0.3191s
 7.  Steve Owen          Paul Morris Holden     1m33.5553s  + 0.3679s
 8.  Garth Tander        HRT Holden             1m33.6242s  + 0.4368s
 9.  Todd Kelly          Kelly Holden           1m33.6953s  + 0.5079s
10.  Fabian Coulthard    Walkinshaw Holden      1m33.7359s  + 0.5485s
11.  Cameron McConville  HRT Holden             1m33.7393s  + 0.5519s
12.  Jason Bright        Brad Jones Holden      1m33.7713s  + 0.5839s
13.  Lee Holdsworth      Garry Rogers Holden    1m33.7715s  + 0.5841s
14.  Jonathon Webb       Tekno Ford             1m33.8020s  + 0.6146s
15.  Tim Slade           Rosenberg/SBR Ford     1m33.8031s  + 0.6157s
16.  Jack Perkins        Paul Morris Holden     1m33.8428s  + 0.6554s
17.  Dean Canto          Rod Nash/FPR Ford      1m33.9913s  + 0.8039s
18.  Dean Fiore          Triple F Ford          1m34.1322s  + 0.9448s
19.  Allan Simonsen      Kelly Holden           1m34.1348s  + 0.9474s
20.  Steven Johnson      Dick Johnson Ford      1m34.2327s  + 1.0453s
21.  Steve Richards      FPR Ford               1m34.2517s  + 1.0643s
22.  Owen Kelly          Kelly Holden           1m34.2969s  + 1.1095s
23.  Jason Bargwanna     Brad Jones Holden      1m34.3102s  + 1.1228s
24.  Taz Douglas         D'Alberto Ford         1m34.3209s  + 1.1335s
25.  James Moffat        Dick Johnson Ford      1m34.3963s  + 1.2089s
26.  Alex Davison        Stone Brothers Ford    1m34.3994s  + 1.2120s
27.  Nathan Pretty       Lucas Dumbrell Holden  1m34.7311s  + 1.5437s
28.  Karl Reindler       Britek/BJR Holden      1m35.1554s  + 1.9680s

Sprint two grid:

Pos  Driver               Team/Car               Time        Gap
 1.  Jamie Whincup        Triple 8 Holden        1m32.6904s
 2.  Shane van Gisbergen  Stone Brothers Ford    1m32.9569s  + 0.2665s
 3.  Mark Skaife          Triple 8 Holden        1m33.1114s  + 0.4210s
 4.  Nick Percat          HRT Holden             1m33.4343s  + 0.7439s
 5.  Paul Dumbrell        Rod Nash/FPR Ford      1m33.4764s  + 0.7860s
 6.  Rick Kelly           Kelly Holden           1m33.5814s  + 0.8910s
 7.  James Courtney       HRT Holden             1m33.7283s  + 1.0379s
 8.  Warren Luff          Lucas Dumbrell Holden  1m33.8216s  + 1.1312s
 9.  Greg Murphy          Kelly Holden           1m33.8398s  + 1.1494s
10.  Marcus Marshall      Garry Rogers Holden    1m33.8591s  + 1.1687s
11.  Luke Youlden         FPR Ford               1m33.9011s  + 1.2107s
12.  Tim Blanchard        Kelly Holden           1m33.9657s  + 1.2753s
13.  Mark Winterbottom    FPR Ford               1m33.9784s  + 1.2880s
14.  Greg Ritter          Garry Rogers Holden    1m33.9852s  + 1.2948s
15.  Dale Wood            D'Alberto Ford         1m34.0144s  + 1.3240s
16.  Craig Baird          Walkinshaw Holden      1m34.0932s  + 1.4028s
17.  Daniel Gaunt         Rosenberg/SBR Ford     1m34.1062s  + 1.4158s
18.  David Russell        Kelly Holden           1m34.1287s  + 1.4383s
19.  David Brabham        Stone Brothers Ford    1m34.1436s  + 1.4532s
20.  Russell Ingall       Paul Morris Holden     1m34.2348s  + 1.5444s
21.  Michael Patrizi      Triple F Ford          1m34.2917s  + 1.6013s
22.  Matthew Halliday     Dick Johnson Ford      1m34.3319s  + 1.6415s
23.  Shane Price          Brad Jones Holden      1m34.4597s  + 1.7693s
24.  Paul Morris          Paul Morris Holden     1m34.4642s  + 1.7738s
25.  David Wall           Britek/BJR Holden      1m34.5996s  + 1.9092s
26.  Richard Lyons        Tekno Ford             1m34.8713s  + 2.1809s
27.  Andrew Jones         Brad Jones Holden      1m34.8849s  + 2.1945s
28.  David Besnard        Dick Johnson Ford      1m35.0055s  + 2.3151s