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Edition

USA
Qualifying report

Newcastle Supercars: Winterbottom tops Sunday qualifying

Mark Winterbottom went quickest in Sunday qualifying ahead of the final Top Ten Shootout of the 2017 Virgin Australia Supercars season

 Mark Winterbottom, Prodrive Racing Australia Ford

Mark Winterbottom, Prodrive Racing Australia Ford

Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images

Mark Winterbottom, Prodrive Racing
 Mark Winterbottom, Prodrive Racing Australia Ford
Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Ford
Todd Kelly, Nissan Motorsport
Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden

Winterbottom topped the charts with a 1:10.2010 and will be one of ten drivers able to make a run at pole position in the Shootout.

The 20-minute session began with James Courtney at the top of the charts, but he lost his fast time after burying his Holden in the tire barrier. The incident caused a red flag, freezing the clock at 14:57 remaining.

The stoppage lasted for nine minutes. When things got back underway, the title contenders Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup quickly shot up near the top of the board. Shane van Gisbergen went off as he pushed his car to the absolute edge, but it would pay off as he soon captured the fastest lap at a 1:10.2046.

It wasn't until the closing moments of the session that Winterbottom was able to one-up him by just  0.0036.

Over at the backend of the top ten, Will Davison held on to the final spot for the Shootout, but Todd Kelly had something to say about it before the checkered flag flew. In the veteran's final start, he surged up into the eighth position and locked himself into the ten-driver fight for pole position.

"I gave it everything I had. Just glad I got it in there. Just thank the guys for all the effort they've given me," he said afterwards.

So the drivers advancing into the Top Ten Shootout in order from fastest to slowest: Winterbottom, Van Gisbergen, David Reynolds, McLaughlin, Rick Kelly, Whincup, Chaz Mostert, Michael Caruso, T. Kelly, and Fabian Coulthard.

Davison ended up being the first driver on the outside, just a few hundredths shy of Coulthard's time.

Cla#DriverCarLapsTimeGapIntervalkm/h
1 5 australia Mark Winterbottom  Ford Falcon FG-X 9 1'10.2010     133.331
2 97 new_zealand Shane van Gisbergen  Holden Commodore VF 10 1'10.2046 0.0036 0.0036 133.324
3 9 australia David Reynolds  Holden Commodore VF 9 1'10.3276 0.1266 0.1230 133.091
4 17 new_zealand Scott McLaughlin  Ford Falcon FG-X 10 1'10.3715 0.1705 0.0439 133.008
5 15 australia Rick Kelly  Nissan Altima 11 1'10.4062 0.2052 0.0347 132.942
6 88 australia Jamie Whincup  Holden Commodore VF 10 1'10.4330 0.2320 0.0268 132.892
7 55 australia Chaz Mostert  Ford Falcon FG-X 8 1'10.4426 0.2416 0.0096 132.874
8 23 australia Michael Caruso  Nissan Altima 10 1'10.5085 0.3075 0.0659 132.749
9 7 australia Todd Kelly  Nissan Altima 12 1'10.5280 0.3270 0.0195 132.713
10 12 new_zealand Fabian Coulthard  Ford Falcon FG/X 13 1'10.5606 0.3596 0.0326 132.651
11 19 australia Will Davison  Holden Commodore VF 9 1'10.5959 0.3949 0.0353 132.585
12 6 australia Cameron Waters  Ford Falcon FG-X 11 1'10.6333 0.4323 0.0374 132.515
13 18 australia Lee Holdsworth  Holden Commodore VF 12 1'10.6400 0.4390 0.0067 132.502
14 34 australia James Moffat  Holden Commodore VF 12 1'10.6730 0.4720 0.0330 132.440
15 8 australia Nick Percat  Holden Commodore VF 12 1'10.6981 0.4971 0.0251 132.393
16 14 australia Tim Slade  Holden Commodore VF 10 1'10.6984 0.4974 0.0003 132.393
17 78 switzerland Simona de Silvestro  Nissan Altima 12 1'10.8733 0.6723 0.1749 132.066
18 2 australia Scott Pye  Holden Commodore VF 12 1'10.9716 0.7706 0.0983 131.883
19 33 australia Garth Tander  Holden Commodore VF 12 1'11.0195 0.8185 0.0479 131.794
20 56 australia Jason Bright  Ford Falcon FG-X 11 1'11.0280 0.8270 0.0085 131.779
21 21 australia Tim Blanchard  Holden Commodore VF 11 1'11.0290 0.8280 0.0010 131.777
22 888 australia Craig Lowndes  Holden Commodore VF 11 1'11.0516 0.8506 0.0226 131.735
23 99 australia Dale Wood  Holden Commodore VF 10 1'11.2249 1.0239 0.1733 131.414
24 22 australia James Courtney  Holden Commodore VF 2 1'11.3645 1.1635 0.1396 131.157
25 3 australia Aaren Russell  Holden Commodore VF 12 1'11.6392 1.4382 0.2747 130.654
26 62 australia Taz Douglas  Holden Commodore VF 11 1'11.6512 1.4502 0.0120 130.632

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