THERE were contrasting fortunes for the championship-contending teams in another thrilling Supercars qualifying session at the NTI Townsville 500.
Erebus Motorsport thrived under pressure, topping the 15-minute session thanks to a sensational 1:12.8387s set by Brodie Kostecki.
Perhaps even more importantly, the team avoided disaster for championship leader Will Brown with a rapid repair to fix a power steering problem and get both cars through to the Top 10 Shootout.
Brown had been 25th without a time on the board heading into the final stages, but pulled out a last-minute 1:13.2288s which proved just enough to scrape through in 10th.
Title rival Broc Feeney was not so lucky, despite being one of 13 cars to set a faster time than the lap which took the Saturday provisional pole.
Feeney, Matt Payne and Scott Pye all were bumped out of the Shootout after the chequered flag had dropped.
Their loss was the gain of Brown, Thomas Randle and Chaz Mostert who saved their best laps for the very last moment.
Up the top, Kostecki’s nearest rival was Cam Waters at 0.0868s adrift.
Behind them, third through 10th was Mostert, David Reynolds, Jack Le Brocq, Randle, Andre Heimgartner, Anton De Pasquale, Will Davison and Brown.
The driver having the toughest time of all was Shane van Gisbergen, who battled persistent car handling difficulties and ran off at Turn 11 on his last flying lap.
He’ll start Race 2 from 25th and last.
The Top 10 Shootout starts at 12pm, before Race 2 gets underway from 2:40pm.
Results: Qualifying for Race 2, 2023 NTI Townsville 500
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99 | Brodie Kostecki | Erebus | Chevrolet | 1:12.8387s |
| 2 | 6 | Cam Waters | Tickford | Ford | +0.0868s |
| 3 | 25 | Chaz Mostert | WAU | Ford | +0.1688s |
| 4 | 26 | David Reynolds | Grove | Ford | +0.1942s |
| 5 | 34 | Jack Le Brocq | MSR | Chevrolet | +0.2486s |
| 6 | 55 | Thomas Randle | Tickford | Ford | +0.2588s |
| 7 | 8 | Andre Heimgartner | BJR | Chevrolet | +0.2854s |
| 8 | 11 | Anton De Pasquale | DJR | Ford | +0.3273s |
| 9 | 17 | Will Davison | DJR | Ford | +0.3782s |
| 10 | 9 | Will Brown | Erebus | Chevrolet | +0.3901s |
| 11 | 19 | Matthew Payne | Grove | Ford | +0.4024s |
| 12 | 20 | Scott Pye | Team 18 | Chevrolet | +0.4175s |
| 13 | 88 | Broc Feeney | Triple Eight | Chevrolet | +0.4419s |
| 14 | 31 | James Golding | PremiAir | Chevrolet | +0.5109s |
| 15 | 14 | Bryce Fullwood | BJR | Chevrolet | +0.5149s |
| 16 | 35 | Cameron Hill | MSR | Chevrolet | +0.5801s |
| 17 | 5 | James Courtney | Tickford | Ford | +0.5825s |
| 18 | 96 | Macauley Jones | BJR | Chevrolet | +0.6026s |
| 19 | 3 | Todd Hazelwood | BRT | Ford | +0.6158s |
| 20 | 18 | Mark Winterbottom | Team 18 | Chevrolet | +0.7313s |
| 21 | 23 | Tim Slade | PremiAir | Chevrolet | +0.789s |
| 22 | 2 | Nick Percat | WAU | Ford | +0.7941s |
| 23 | 777 | Declan Fraser | Tickford | Ford | +0.8202s |
| 24 | 4 | Jack Smith | BJR | Chevrolet | +1.2133s |
| 25 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight | Chevrolet | +5.7005s |
