Melbourne V8s: Michael Caruso puts Nissan on pole for F1 support
Nissan driver Michael Caruso claimed the Altima's first V8 Supercars pole position after topping the times in qualifying for the non-championship Australian Grand Prix Formula 1 support event
Caruso, who also topped free practice, set his fastest time during the first half of qualifying and it remained unchallenged during the final 10 minutes of the evening session.
Tekno Autosports Holden driver Shane van Gisbergen ended up almost two tenths of a second down in second place, having proved unable to challenge Caruso's time on his final run.
Scott McLaughlin made it three different manufacturers in the top three by putting the lead Garry Rogers Motorsport Volvo S60 third on the grid ahead of the Triple Eight Holden of reigning champion Jamie Whincup.
Nissan's Todd Kelly pipped the second Triple Eight car of Craig Lowndes to fifth place, ahead of Fabian Coulthard and James Moffat.
The best-placed Ford was Chaz Mostert's FPR entry down in 12th, almost six tenths off the pace.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Michael Caruso Nissan 1m55.8313s 2. Shane van Gisbergen Tekno Holden 1m56.0275s +0.1962s 3. Scott McLaughlin GRM Volvo 1m56.0654s +0.2341s 4. Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Holden 1m56.1071s +0.2758s 5. Todd Kelly Nissan 1m56.2262s +0.3949s 6. Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Holden 1m56.2480s +0.4167s 7. Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Holden 1m56.2770s +0.4457s 8. James Moffat Nissan 1m56.3234s +0.4921s 9. Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden 1m56.3351s +0.5038s 10. Garth Tander HRT Holden 1m56.3680s +0.5367s 11. Robert Dahlgren GRM Volvo 1m56.3880s +0.5567s 12. Chaz Mostert FPR Ford 1m56.4169s +0.5856s 13. Will Davison Erebus Mercedes 1m56.5017s +0.6704s 14. Rick Kelly Nissan 1m56.5255s +0.6942s 15. David Wall Dick Johnson Ford 1m56.5817s +0.7504s 16. Nick Percat Walkinshaw/HRT Holden 1m56.5847s +0.7534s 17. Tim Slade Rosenberg/HRT Holden 1m56.5905s +0.7592s 18. Mark Winterbottom FPR Ford 1m56.6242s +0.7929s 19. Scott Pye Dick Johnson Ford 1m56.6700s +0.8387s 20. David Reynolds Rod Nash/FPR Ford 1m56.6710s +0.8397s 21. James Courtney HRT Holden 1m56.7548s +0.9235s 22. Dale Wood Britek/BJR Holden 1m56.7654s +0.9341s 23. Russell Ingall Dumbrell Holden 1m56.8205s +0.9892s 24. Jack Perkins Schwerkolt/FPR Ford 1m56.8317s +1.0004s 25. Lee Holdsworth Erebus Mercedes 1m56.9268s +1.0955s
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