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Darwin Supercars: Reynolds snatches Saturday pole

David Reynolds pipped one-lap wonder Scott McLaughlin to bag pole for today's opening Supercars race in Darwin.

David Reynolds, Erebus Motorsport Holden

David Reynolds, Erebus Motorsport Holden

Dirk Klynsmith / Motorsport Images

David Reynolds, Erebus Motorsport Holden
David Reynolds, Erebus Motorsport Holden
Scott McLaughlin, DJR Team Penske Ford
Scott McLaughlin, DJR Team Penske Ford
Anton De Pasquale, Erebus Motorsport Holden
Rick Kelly, Nissan Motorsport Nissan
Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden

It was a hectic start to the 15-minute session, as crews looked to take advantage of the Michelin rubber left over from the preceding Carrera Cup race, as well as beat the constantly rising temperatures.

That meant the best of the times were likely to come on the first run, Scott McLaughlin proving that point perfectly with a 1m05.894s – the first 1m05s lap of the weekend – on his first run.

While it looked like a typical McLaughlin killer blow, David Reynolds had other ideas. Seconds after McLaughlin crossed the line, the Erebus driver took over at the top with a 1m05.849s.

As quickly as it started, the battle for pole was over, both Reynolds and McLaughlin out of their respective cars not long after the half-way point in the session with the front row sewn up.

"We know when the Michelin rubber is down, you've got one lap to do it and it's toast after that," said Reynolds, the pole his first since 2015.

"I just threw everything I had at it, and it stuck. It means a lot to me; usually [Scott] is the qualifying king, so I couldn't be happier. I was crying a little but in the car, because we haven't had a pole with this team. It's unbelievable."

"I just missed a little bit on my lap," added McLaughlin. "I was probably being a bit too safe trying to get that first lap in, and paid the price."

The real shock of the session was Reynolds' teammate Anton De Pasquale, the rookie showing few signs of it being his first trip to the Darwin circuit by qualifying third.

"It's good. It's my best qualifying, but Dave still beat me," he said. "It's very intense, that first lap, you know that's when it's going to count. First time here, but I'm really enjoying the track. Hopefully I still enjoy it after the race."

De Pasquale's effort dropped Rick Kelly back to fourth, while the Red Bull Holden pair of Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup couldn't do any better than locking out the third row.

Andre Heimgartner and Michael Caruso made it three Nissans in the Top 10 with seventh and ninth respectively, split by Scott Pye in the Walkinshaw Holden.

Will Davison was once again the best of the Tickford-built Fords in the 23Red entry, the factory cars down in 16th (Mark Winterbottom), 17th (Chaz Mostert), 18th (Cam Waters) and 22nd (Richie Stanaway).

Fabian Coulthard was another surprising omission from the Top 10, finishing 13 spots behind his DJR Team Penske teammate.

Having crashed heavily in practice, wildcard entrant Macauley Jones managed to not only get out for qualifying, but out-pace both Jack Le Brocq and Todd Hazelwood.

ClaDriverCarTimeGap
1 9 australia  David Reynolds  Holden Commodore ZB 1'05.8496  
2 17 new_zealand  Scott McLaughlin  Ford Falcon FG X 1'05.8943 0.0447
3 99 australia  Anton de Pasquale  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.0133 0.1637
4 15 australia  Rick Kelly  Nissan Altima 1'06.0254 0.1758
5 97 new_zealand  Shane van Gisbergen  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.0561 0.2065
6 1 australia  Jamie Whincup  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.1263 0.2767
7 7 new_zealand  Andre Heimgartner  Nissan Altima 1'06.1652 0.3156
8 2 australia  Scott Pye  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.1728 0.3232
9 23 australia  Michael Caruso  Nissan Altima 1'06.2077 0.3581
10 230 australia  Will Davison  Ford Falcon FG X 1'06.2293 0.3797
11 14 australia  Tim Slade  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.2354 0.3858
12 888 australia  Craig Lowndes  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.2376 0.3880
13 33 australia  Garth Tander  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.2493 0.3997
14 12 new_zealand  Fabian Coulthard  Ford Falcon FG X 1'06.2535 0.4039
15 8 australia  Nick Percat  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.3004 0.4508
16 5 australia  Mark Winterbottom  Ford Falcon FG X 1'06.3008 0.4512
17 55 australia  Chaz Mostert  Ford Falcon FG X 1'06.3021 0.4525
18 6 australia  Cameron Waters  Ford Falcon FG X 1'06.3441 0.4945
19 21 australia  Tim Blanchard  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.3461 0.4965
20 400 australia  Lee Holdsworth  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.4234 0.5738
21 34 australia  James Golding  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.4312 0.5816
22 56 new_zealand  Richie Stanaway  Ford Falcon FG X 1'06.4386 0.5890
23 25 australia  James Courtney  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.5198 0.6702
24 78 switzerland  Simona de Silvestro  Nissan Altima 1'06.5602 0.7106
25 4 australia  Macauley Jones  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.6496 0.8000
26 19 australia  Jack Le Brocq  Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.7826 0.9330
27 35 australia  Todd Hazelwood  Ford Falcon FG X 1'06.7957 0.9461

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