Albert Park Supercars: McLaughlin, Whincup lock out poles
Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup completed their clean-sweep of the Albert Park poles by topping a session each again this morning.
McLaughlin and Whincup already secured a pole position each from yesterday's two 10-minute sessions, the DJR Team Penske driver on top in the Race 1 session, before Whincup struck back for the Race 2 pole.
The title favourites were back to the same tricks today, McLaughlin comfortably charging to pole for Race 3 with a 1m55.157s, before Whincup made the best of the second 10-minute session to bag the Race 4 pole with a 1m55.477s.
That means McLaughlin will start today's first race and tomorrow's third race from pole, while reigning champion Whincup will lead the field away in Race 2 tomorrow and Race 4 on Sunday.
Unlike yesterday, however, neither were able to secure a front-row start for both races. Whincup will start Race 3 from fourth, while McLaughlin was just ninth fastest in Race 4 qualifying, having failed to nail his crucial first lap.
Nick Percat was the most consistent of the two sessions today, the Brad Jones Racing driver grabbing second for Race 3 and third for Race 4.
Walkinshaw Andretti United driver Scott Pye was impressive as well, taking a third and a fifth from the two sessions.
David Reynolds found gains for the second session, jumping from ninth first time around to second for Race 4. Tim Slade went the other way, qualifying fifth for Race 3 but just 13th for Race 4.
Chaz Mostert was sixth fastest in the Race 3 session before leaving his run very late to grab fourth for Race 4, while Fabian Coulthard ended up with a seventh and a sixth.
The biggest shock of the two sessions was Shane van Gisbergen, the points leader just 17th in the first session, before slumping to the very back of the field without a representative lap in the second after sliding off-track on his final run.
Cam Waters was another shock omission from the Top 20 for Race 3, winding up way down in 22nd. He only managed to improve to 15th a second time around.
James Courtney's difficult weekend continued, failing to trouble teammate Pye on his way to a 11th and a 25th.
Mark Winterbottom failed to make the Top 10 for either race either, with a 12th and a 14th.
Race 3
| Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 |  Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'55.1576 |
| 2 | 8 |  Nick Percat | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'55.3121 |
| 3 | 2 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'55.4181 |
| 4 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'55.5744 |
| 5 | 14 | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'55.5841 |
| 6 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'55.6534 |
| 7 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'55.7604 |
| 8 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 1'55.7936 |
| 9 | 9 | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'55.8202 |
| 10 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'55.8516 |
| 11 | 25 | James Courtney | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'55.9946 |
| 12 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'56.0122 |
| 13 | 99 | Anton de Pasquale | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'56.0816 |
| 14 | 33 | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'56.1326 |
| 15 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Altima | 1'56.1449 |
| 16 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1'56.1778 |
| 17 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'56.3884 |
| 18 | 78 |  Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Altima | 1'56.5177 |
| 19 | 230 | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'56.6207 |
| 20 | 34 | James Golding | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'56.6627 |
| 21 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'56.6871 |
| 22 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'56.8657 |
| 23 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'56.9542 |
| 24 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'57.0785 |
| 25 | 56 | Richie Stanaway | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'57.1634 |
| 26 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'57.3529 |
Race 4
| Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'55.4777 |
| 2 | 9 | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'55.5330 |
| 3 | 8 | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'55.5726 |
| 4 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'55.5825 |
| 5 | 2 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'55.7679 |
| 6 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'55.8967 |
| 7 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 1'55.9745 |
| 8 | 230 | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'55.9877 |
| 9 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'55.9927 |
| 10 | 99 | Anton de Pasquale | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'55.9948 |
| 11 | 33 | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'56.0082 |
| 12 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'56.1351 |
| 13 | 14 | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'56.1409 |
| 14 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'56.2174 |
| 15 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'56.2405 |
| 16 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Altima | 1'56.2950 |
| 17 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1'56.4759 |
| 18 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'56.4871 |
| 19 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Altima | 1'56.8815 |
| 20 | 56 | Richie Stanaway | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'57.0245 |
| 21 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'57.2643 |
| 22 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Ford Falcon FG X | 1'57.3489 |
| 23 | 34 | James Golding | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'57.6625 |
| 24 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'58.4219 |
| 25 | 25 | James Courtney | Holden Commodore ZB | 2'15.2034 |
| 26 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore ZB |
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About this article
| Series | Supercars |
| Event | Albert Park |
| Location | Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit |
| Author | Andrew van Leeuwen |
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