Matt Payne and Chaz Mostert claim pole positions for twin Supercars races at Albert Park on Sunday
- Two Supercars races will be held at the Melbourne circuit
- Payne rose eleven places to take pole position in race five
- Mostert also left his run late, claiming first place on the grid for race six
Matt Payne and Chaz Mostert have each taken pole in Melbourne after back-to-back sudden death Supercars qualifying sessions.
Payne claimed two third places earlier this week and flew eleven places to the top of the pack in the final seconds to take a first career pole in Saturday’s first session at Albert Park.
Taking to the city circuit on a fresh set of tires, the Grove Racing rookie clocked a lap time of one minute, 46.65 seconds, beating Friday’s pole sitter Cam Waters by 0.007 seconds.
Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Mostert was third fastest and will start the 14-lap race from the second row alongside Broc Feeney (Triple Eight), while championship leader and Feeney’s teammate Will Brown had to settle for sixth, behind Jack Le Brocq.
Waters lamented the missed opportunity after failing to capitalize on his top position on the grid in the fourth race.
A last-ditch effort from Chaz Mostert means he will start from pole position in race six
Matt Payne rose eleven places to take pole position for race five at Albert Park on Sunday
By finishing sixth on Friday, the Tickford Racing driver had gained the advantage over Brown in their grid battle, forcing him to take an inside line. But Waters lost the lead ahead of the first corner before relinquishing a podium spot after going too wide in a corner.
āI say I missed that,ā Waters said after the first qualifying session.
āI’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, haven’t I? I just want to do another nice, clean lap.”
Mostert was 0.110 seconds faster than Payne in the second session, securing the best possible starting position for the final race of the weekend.
Like Payne, Mostert showed off a new set of tires and recorded a lap time of 1:46.322, denying the young New Zealander a second career pole and Waters a chance at top spot on the grid.
Waters starts third and shares the second row with Nick Percat, while Feeney and Brown missed the top five in sixth and ninth respectively.
Race five starts at 5.40pm (AEDT).
RACE FIVE QUALIFYING:
- 1. Matt Payne (Grove Racing) 1:46.654
- 2. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) +0.007
- 3. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) +0.110
- 4. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Racing) +0.128
- 5. Jack Le Brocq (Erebus Motorsport) +0.209
RACE SIX QUALIFICATION:
- 1. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) 1:46.322
- 2. Matt Payne (Grove Racing) +0.110
- 3. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) +0.187
- 4. Nick Percat (Matt Stone Racing) +0.348
- 5. Bryce Fullwood (Brad Jones Racing) +0.398