WILLOWBANK, Queensland, Australia — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images AsiaPac photo —
If qualifying was any indication, it’s going to be a long road to hoe for anyone to stop the Prodrive Racing Australia/Pepsi Max Ford Falcons from claiming the 200 km finale of the Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint.
Young gun Chaz Mostert charged to his eighth ARMOR ALL Pole Award of the season in the drills for round 20 of the V8 Supercars Championship, posting a quick lap of 1:09.7326 seconds around the Queensland Raceway to top the field and put himself in position to end teammate Mark Winterbottom’s four race win streak.
‘Frosty’ was not far behind, however, timing in second alongside his protege with a lap of 1:09.8361, just a tenth off the pole. Winterbottom swept both Saturday races and is looking to extend his championship lead over Craig Lowndes with a fifth consecutive victory.
Lowndes buoyed the Red Bull camp’s spirits, however — clocking in third-fastest (1:09.9087) in the 20-minute session and providing a glimmer of hope that the multi-time championship-winning team will be a contender for the victory. RBRA has not won the Sunday race at Ipswich since 2012, when Lowndes swept the entirety of the three-race meet.
His teammate, six-time and defending series champion Jamie Whincup, clocked in on the outside of row two with a fourth-place effort (1:10.0157), ahead of the third PRA Ford driven by David Reynolds (1:10.0294).
Jason Bright, the Mercedes-Benz of Will Davison, 2014 pole winner James Moffat, Nick Percat and Michael Caruso rounded out the top 10.
Scott McLaughlin (13th) and Garth Tander (14th) will both start from a disappointing seventh row on the grid, while Shane van Gisbergen timed in a shocking 23rd after suffering from gearbox and transaxle issues on Saturday that left him unable to get off the starting line.
The final race of the Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint kicks off at 2:40 p.m. local time on Sunday.
RESULTS: V8 Supercars Championship; ARMOR ALL Pole Qualifying — Race 20; Queensland Raceway; August 2, 2015
- Chaz Mostert
- Mark Winterbottom
- Craig Lowndes
- Jamie Whincup
- David Reynolds
- Jason Bright
- Will Davison
- James Moffat
- Nick Percat
- Michael Caruso
- Fabian Coulthard
- Andre Heimgartner
- Scott McLaughlin
- Garth Tander
- James Courtney
- Rick Kelly
- Todd Kelly
- Scott Pye
- Lee Holdsworth
- Ash Walsh
- Dale Wood
- David Wall
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Tim Blanchard
- Tim Slade
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s. He is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for both the United Sprint Car Series and the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: speed77radio@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
