Melbourne V8 Supercars: Fabian Coulthard takes pole
Fabian Coulthard led team-mate Jason Bright in a Brad Jones Holden one-two in qualifying for V8 Supercars' non-championship races at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne
Coulthard put himself clear of the pack with a 1m55.6682s lap, 0.3491 seconds ahead of Bright. The latter will fall to fourth on the grid, though, due to a penalty for failing to go directly to the pits after first practice.
Adelaide race two winner Shane van Gisbergen jumped from the foot of the top 10 to third in his Tekno Holden in the closing moments.
Triple 8 duo Craig Lowndes and champion Jamie Whincup complete an all-Holden top five, with David Reynolds the top Ford driver in sixth.
Ford Performance Racing's lead drivers Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom share row five.
Highest qualifier for the new manufacturers was Nissan man Michael Caruso in 12th.
But the Erebus Mercedes programme was buoyed by Tim Slade putting his Rosenberg-entered car 14th on the grid, a major step forward over Adelaide.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Holden 1m55.6682s 2. Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden 1m56.0173s + 0.3491s 3. Shane van Gisbergen Tekno Holden 1m56.0444s + 0.3762s 4. Craig Lowndes Triple 8 Holden 1m56.2054s + 0.5372s 5. Jamie Whincup Triple 8 Holden 1m56.4227s + 0.7545s 6. David Reynolds Rod Nash/FPR 1m56.6233s + 0.9551s 7. Jonothan Webb Tekno Holden 1m56.7129s + 1.0447s 8. Scott McLaughlin GRM Holden 1m56.7223s + 1.0541s 9. Will Davison FPR Ford 1m56.8193s + 1.1511s 10. Mark Winterbottom FPR Ford 1m56.8625s + 1.1943s 11. Russell Ingall Walkinshaw/HRT Holden 1m57.2019s + 1.5337s 12. Michael Caruso Nissan 1m57.2178s + 1.5496s 13. Todd Kelly Nissan 1m57.2748s + 1.6066s 14. Tim Slade Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes 1m57.3251s + 1.6569s 15. Garth Tander HRT Holden 1m57.3650s + 1.6968s 16. Tony D'Alberto D'Alberto Holden 1m57.4147s + 1.7465s 17. Scott Pye Dumbrell Holden 1m57.4172s + 1.7490s 18. David Wall Britek/BJR Holden 1m57.4390s + 1.7708s 19. James Courtney HRT Holden 1m57.4600s + 1.7918s 20. Rick Kelly Nissan 1m57.4779s + 1.8097s 21. James Moffat Nissan 1m57.4882s + 1.8200s 22. Alex Davison Schwerkolt/FPR Ford 1m57.5041s + 1.8359s 23. Alexandre Premat GRM Holden 1m57.5220s + 1.8538s 24. Lee Holdsworth Erebus Mercedes 1m57.6629s + 1.9947s 25. Jonny Reid DJR Ford 1m57.8355s + 2.1673s 26. Dean Fiore Dumbrell Holden 1m58.0042s + 2.3360s 27. Tim Blanchard DJR Ford 1m58.2013s + 2.5331s 28. Maro Engel Erebus Mercedes 1m58.9306s + 3.2624s
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| Series | Supercars |
| Drivers | Fabian Coulthard |
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