Skaife on Hidden Valley Pole

Skaife's time was almost three tenths faster than the next best effort in the shootout, which was set by his teammate Todd Kelly, winner of the corresponding round in 2004.

Ford drivers Craig Lowndes and reigning champion Marcos Ambrose were next best, with the top five round out by Holden's Steven Richards as the leading drivers in the points dominate the front of the grid.

Russell Ingall was set for a top ten start with tenth fastest time in qualifying before he was sent to the rear of the field for missing a pit lane weigh-in.

Super Cheap Auto Racing had their own problems, with Greg Murphy and Paul Weel well down the order in 24th and 26th positions on the grid compared to their sixth and twelfth places in the championship.

Qualifying Results, SkyCity V8 Supercars Darwin, Hidden Valley Raceway:

Pos  Driver              Car
 1.  Mark Skaife         Holden Commodore VZ
 2.  Todd Kelly          Holden Commodore VZ
 3.  Craig Lowndes       Ford Falcon BA
 4.  Marcos Ambrose      Ford Falcon BA
 5.  Steven Richards     Holden Commodore VY
 6.  Garth Tander        Holden Commodore VZ
 7.  Paul Radisich       Holden Commodore VZ
 8.  Paul Morris         Holden Commodore VZ
 9.  Jason Bright        Ford Falcon BA
10.  Mark Winterbottom   Ford Falcon BA
11.  Jason Richards      Holden Commodore VZ
12.  Glenn Seton         Ford Falcon BA
13.  Jason Bargwanna     Ford Falcon BA
14.  Simon Wills         Holden Commodore VZ
15.  Greg Ritter         Ford Falcon BA
16.  John Bowe           Ford Falcon BA
17.  Steve Ellery        Ford Falcon BA
18.  Craig Baird         Ford Falcon BA
19.  Paul Dumbrell       Holden Commodore VY
20.  Rick Kelly          Holden Commodore VZ
21.  Max Wilson          Holden Commodore VZ
22.  Steven Johnson      Ford Falcon BA
23.  Brad Jones          Ford Falcon BA
24.  Greg Murphy         Holden Commodore VZ
25.  Jamie Whincup       Holden Commodore VZ
26.  Paul Weel           Holden Commodore VZ
27.  Cameron McConville  Holden Commodore VZ
28.  Steve Owen          Ford Falcon BA
29.  Matthew White       Ford Falcon BA
30.  Andrew Jones        Holden Commodore VZ
31.  Anthony Tratt       Holden Commodore VY
32.  David Besnard       Ford Falcon BA
33.  Alex Davison        Holden Commodore VZ
34.  Russell Ingall      Ford Falcon BA