FPR on front row at Hidden Valley
Ford Performance Racing secured a front-row lockout with Mark Winterbottom taking pole position ahead of teammate Steven Richards for the first race of the SkyCity Triple Crown at Hidden Valley
Winterbottom topped the times early in the final leg of qualifying before Team Vodafone's Jamie Whincup, who had set the fastest time in the second leg of qualifying, went to the top of the times.
But he was almost immediately demoted by Steven Richards, but less than a minute later his teammate Mark Winterbottom retook the top spot to take pole position.
Whincup's effort was good enough for third, followed by Holden Racing Team's Garth Tander who had Craig Lowndes just behind him for fifth fastest. Jason Richards, who went into the final leg of qualifying with no new tyres, did a remarkable job to qualify sixth just ahead of Russell Ingall.
Lee Holdsworth, Will Davison and Mark Skaife completed the top ten, with James Courtney in 11th after being bumped out of making it into the final leg of qualifying after the chequered flag had fallen in the second leg.
Just behind Courtney on the grid will be Steven Johnson and Rick Kelly, while drivers further down the order than expected include Cameron McConville in 18th, Greg Murphy in 19th, Shane van Gisbergen in 22nd and Michael Caruso in 27th.
Pos Driver Make Time 1. Mark Winterbottom Ford 1:09.9646 2. Steven Richards Ford 1:09.9757 + 0.0111 3. Jamie Whincup Ford 1:09.9849 + 0.0203 4. Garth Tander Holden 1:10.0976 + 0.1330 5. Craig Lowndes Ford 1:10.1072 + 0.1426 6. Jason Richards Holden 1:10.1596 + 0.1950 7. Russell Ingall Holden 1:10.1671 + 0.2025 8. Lee Holdsworth Holden 1:10.2598 + 0.2952 9. Will Davison Ford 1:10.2642 + 0.2996 10. Mark Skaife Holden 1:10.4850 + 0.5204 11. James Courtney Ford 1:10.1797 + 0.2151 12. Steven Johnson Ford 1:10.2383 + 0.2737 13. Rick Kelly Holden 1:10.2960 + 0.3314 14. Paul Morris Holden 1:10.3447 + 0.3801 15. Fabian Coulthard Ford 1:10.3595 + 0.3949 16. Todd Kelly Holden 1:10.4316 + 0.4670 17. Jason Bright Ford 1:10.6487 + 0.6841 18. Cameron McConville Holden 1:10.6527 + 0.6881 19. Greg Murphy Holden 1:10.6826 + 0.7180 20. Paul Dumbrell Holden 1:10.7132 + 0.7486 21. Andrew Jones Holden 1:10.7152 + 0.7506 22. Shane Van Gisbergen Ford 1:10.7168 + 0.7522 23. Marcus Marshall Ford 1:10.7407 + 0.7761 24. Michael Patrizi Ford 1:10.7657 + 0.8011 25. Shane Price Holden 1:10.7658 + 0.8012 26. Tony D'Alberto Holden 1:10.8161 + 0.8515 27. Michael Caruso Holden 1:10.9775 + 1.0129 28. Andrew Thompson Holden 1:11.0670 + 1.1024 29. Kayne Scott Ford 1:11.4383 + 1.4737
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