Holden star Jamie Whincup will start Sunday’s 200km Supercars race at Pukekohe Park in New Zealand from pole position.
The seven-time driver’s champion bounced back from being stripped of a podium finish in Saturday’s race – due to a 15-second penalty being imposed after the event – to pip Ford’s Lee Holdsworth to the pole.
Whincup’s time of 1min 01.6666sec in Sunday’s top 10 shootout gave him a first pole of the season.
“Don’t remind me of that,” Whincup said when told his last pole had been at last year’s event at Pukekohe.
“The car was fantastic … great car, couldn’t be happier.”
The Red Bull Holden Racing Team driver will start alongside Holdsworth on the front row of the grid.
Holdsworth, who last won a pole in Sydney in 2010, set a time of 1:01.8651 and watched three drivers fail to beat his time before Whincup snatched P1 with the last lap of the session.
Cameron Waters qualified 10th for the shootout but his lap of 1:01.8781 lifted him to third and he will start alongside DJR Team Penske’s Fabian Coulthard on the second-row of the grid.
Coulthard’s championship-leading teammate Scott McLaughlin, who survived a major scare in the morning’s qualifying session where he spun sideways on the main straight before recovering, will start from fifth.
“It was more arse than class,” McLaughlin said of the wild moment earlier in the day, which included his Ford Mustang destroying a foam advertising board as it skidded skidways past the grandstand.
“It was lucky absolutely but this category you’ve got to go hard.”
The New Zealander is aiming to avoid leaving a race meeting without a win for the first time in 2019.
A win on Sunday would make McLaughlin the most successful driver in a single Supercars season – he shares that record of 16 wins with Craig Lowndes.
Saturday race winner Shane Van Gisbergen will start sixth alongside McLaughlin with Tickford pair Chaz Mostert and Will Davison behind them on the fourth row of the grid.
McLaughlin’s rival David Reynolds will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid after crashing out of qualifying.
Reynolds made a mistake heading through turn four of the 2.91km circuit and his Penrite Racing Commodore skidded across wet grass before barrelling into a tyre bundle.
The 2017 Bathurst champion was unharmed, but must start from 24th after his fastest lap time was wiped by officials for causing a red flag.
“Obviously ran out of luck or talent, I’m not sure,” Reynolds said.
“I had a lot of luck yesterday so I had to run out at some point.
“I just feel terrible for the crew.”
Sunday’s 70-lap race to wrap up the Auckland SuperSprint starts at 4.10pm (1410 AEST).
