Perth Supercars: McLaughlin pips Mostert for pole

The DJR Team Penske driver played his hand early, jumping to the top with a lap record-breaking 54.573s on his second run on green tyres midway through the session.

He then opted not to have a third stab at a lap in the closing minutes, the time holding on by just 0.04s as Mostert made a gain on that final run.

“I was a bit worried, but thankfully it held on,” said McLaughlin.

“I felt that that lap was basically all I could get out of it, and if anyone beat me good on them. I feel like the car is even better than yesterday, so we’ll see how we go [in the race].”

Mostert’s teammate Mark Winterbottom made gains on that final run too, missing out on a front row slot by just 0.004s, while Shane van Gisbergen was just 0.03s fourth back in fourth.

Fabian Coulthard struggled to match his DJR Team Penske teammate, qualifying fifth with a 54.801s, with Jamie Whincup rounding out the third row.

Jason Bright enjoyed a solid session in his Prodrive Ford with seventh spot, ahead of Will Davison, Rick Kelly, and David Reynolds.

Craig Lowndes had a tough session, ending up just 18th quickest, while HSV Racing driver James Courtney was left fuming with another poor performance that left him down in 20th.

“It’s embarrassing,” said the 2010 series champ.

“We’re calling ourselves a top level team and we’re qualifying in the 20s. It’s very embarrassing for me, and I’m sure for all the guys here.

“Something has to happen.”

Cla	#	Driver	Car	Time	Gap
1	17	Scott McLaughlin	Ford Falcon FG-X	54.5730
2	55	Chaz Mostert	Ford Falcon FG-X	54.6209	0.0479
3	5	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Falcon FG-X	54.6243	0.0513
4	97	Shane van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore VF	54.6568	0.0838
5	12	Fabian Coulthard	Ford Falcon FG-X	54.8016	0.2286
6	88	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore VF	54.8022	0.2292
7	56	Jason Bright	Ford Falcon FG-X	54.8636	0.2906
8	19	Will Davison	Holden Commodore VF	55.0063	0.4333
9	15	Rick Kelly	Nissan Altima	55.0121	0.4391
10	9	David Reynolds	Holden Commodore VF	55.0274	0.4544
11	8	Nick Percat	Holden Commodore VF	55.0839	0.5109
12	2	Scott Pye	Holden Commodore VF	55.0998	0.5268
13	18	Lee Holdsworth	Holden Commodore VF	55.1500	0.5770
14	6	Cameron Waters	Ford Falcon FG-X	55.1713	0.5983
15	34	James Moffat	Holden Commodore VF	55.1883	0.6153
16	33	Garth Tander	Holden Commodore VF	55.2179	0.6449
17	23	Michael Caruso	Nissan Altima	55.2546	0.6816
18	888	Craig Lowndes	Holden Commodore VF	55.2802	0.7072
19	14	Tim Slade	Holden Commodore VF	55.2932	0.7202
20	22	James Courtney	Holden Commodore VF	55.3239	0.7509
21	7	Todd Kelly	Nissan Altima	55.4050	0.8320
22	78	Simona de Silvestro	Nissan Altima	55.4652	0.8922
23	62	Alex Rullo	Holden Commodore VF	55.6209	1.0479
24	21	Tim Blanchard	Holden Commodore VF	55.6302	1.0572
25	99	Dale Wood	Holden Commodore VF	55.6917	1.1187
26	3	Matt Brabham	Holden Commodore VF	56.6186	2.0456