All four contenders for this year’s V8 Supercars championship have earned a spot in the top-10 shootout for the opening race of the Sydney 500.

But it was series leader Jamie Whincup who stamped his mark during Saturday’s 20-minute qualifying session at Sydney Olympic Park, posting the fastest time of the afternoon.

His lap of 1min 27.3878secs broke the qualifying record set by Ford’s Will Davison at the brutal street circuit in 2011.

Davison, an outside chance of winning the 2013 crown, was third fastest behind Shane Van Gisbergen, but ended the session with severe damage after crashing into a tyre wall just before the chequered flag dropped.

Whincup’s teammate and nearest championship rival Craig Lowndes finished fifth, more than half a second off the pace, with fellow contender Mark Winterbottom of Ford back in seventh.

“The car’s obviously very good so it’s all up to me now. It’s all on my shoulders for the shootout,” said Whincup, on the verge of a record-equalling fifth title.

There was no shortage of drama during the short qualifying run.

Holden’s Garth Tander forced a red flag after slamming into the tyre wall and concrete barrier just moments after posting the day’s fastest lap.

But that time was wiped off the timesheets, with Tander suffering severe front-end damage and was unable to complete the session.

“I hit the wall pretty hard and it’s done a fair bit of damage,” said Tander, who won the inaugural Sydney 500 race in 2009.

“Fast car and fast time is irrelevant now. We lose our time. So even if we can fix our car we’ll start at the back.

“It’s disappointing and frustrating.”

Frenchman Alex Premat also hit the concrete after being nudged and spun by Nissan’s James Moffat near the finish line.

The top-10 shootout, which determines the front of the grid for Saturday’s twilight race, begins at 2.05pm (AEDT).