Ford’s wait for V8 pole set to go on

It’s a barren spell that dates back to last year’s V8 Supercars meet on Phillip Island and Ford tyro Chaz Mostert warns there’s no end in sight.

The famous Blue Oval is without a pole position for a calendar year and was again found wanting in practice for this year’s meet on the Island.

After two practice sessions it looked as though the coastal circuit might provide some respite, with Ford drivers Scott Pye and Mostert topping the timing charts.

But in one brutal minute of the final session, Red Bull Racing showed the gulf between itself and the field.

First Craig Lowndes went within a tenth of the practice record with the fastest time of the day – 1:30.6899.

Then series champion-in-waiting Jamie Whincup leapt up the charts to join him in second place, narrowly behind.

While practice is a long way from the white-hot intensity of a race day, it was tough viewing for Ford fans.

Mostert expects it could be a similar story during qualifying, saying he was “not at all” confident of breaking the spell this weekend.

“We’ve been crying, jumping up and down for aero (aerodynamic improvements) all year,” he said.

“We don’t have that.

“We’re hanging out for next year as much as we can.”

While downbeat on his pole chances, the Bathurst champion isn’t writing off the prospect of race wins if there is improvement in his car for a possible wet and windy weekend.

“We need to put our thinking caps on because we’ve got some work to do overnight,” he said.

“We’ve got some good fundaments about our car and there’s some stuff we need to try and dial out of it.”

Mostert’s 1:31.1252 time placed him seventh overall, with teammate Mark Winterbottom further back in 12th overall.

Volvo’s Scott McLaughlin was the only non-Commodore in the combined top five, rounded out by Shane van Gisbergen and Fabian Coulthard.

Ford’s planning for next season has also extended to a driver switch, with Team Jeld-Wen dropping Jack Perkins for Lee Holdsworth.

Holdsworth competed in a Ford with Stone Brothers Racing in 2012 before switching to the Mercedes of Erebus Motorsport for two seasons.

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