Townsville Supercars: Winterbottom tops Shootout to take pole
Mark Winterbottom came out on top of the Top 10 Shootout to secure pole position for today’s 200-kilometre Supercars race in Townsville.
Mark Winterbottom, Prodrive Racing Australia Ford
Dirk Klynsmith
The track was actually in better condition that it had been in qualifying, a one-hour Australian GT race right before the Shootout leaving plenty of rubber out there for the one-lap dash.
And it was Winterbottom who best adapted to the conditions, the Prodrive Racing driver pumping out a 1m12.407s – four tenths better than the time that put him third in qualifying – to grab pole for today’s race.
“The car in qualifying was average, but the track was low in grip,” said Winterbottom. “Then the track’s gripped up, and the engineering crew, they worked hard in that little two-hour block we had. The car was fantastic. It’s the guys who turned the car around.”
Craig Lowndes made a decent gain in the Shootout as well, turning fifth in qualifying into a front-row start thanks to a 1m12.510s.
The two Red Bull-backed Triple Eight cars, however, went backwards. Jamie Whincup qualified third with a 1m12.557s, while provisional pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen slipped down to fourth, despite having been less than a tenth off Winterbottom at the second split.
David Reynolds was the surprise of the session, jumping from eighth to fifth. The Erebus driver had a spare set of greens up his sleeve after not running new rubber at the end of qualifying, and banged out an impressive 1m12.628s to bank a third-row starting spot alongside Scott McLaughlin.
Chaz Mostert qualified seventh, while Will Davison slipped down the order from fourth to eighth.
Scott Pye and Garth Tander finished the Shootout effectively where they started – in ninth and 10th respectively.
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