Kostecki blitzes qualifying to nab Tailem Bend pole

SUPERCARS championship leader Brodie Kostecki has soared to pole position for Race 1 of the 2023 OTR SuperSprint after topping all three qualifying segments.

Q1

It was an odd start to proceedings, with red flags almost immediately flying due to the presence of a stray rock on the track.

Shane van Gisbergen had been nowhere throughout practice but comfortably escaped an early exit, helped by a pre-session power steering pump change.

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Kostecki led the way on a 1:50.1580s, but the first 15 minutes was all about avoiding a bottom five starting slot.

Unable to do so was Team 18’s Scott Pye and Mark Winterbottom – who were separated by Todd Hazelwood – as well as Jack Smith and Declan Fraser.

With none of those five able to improve after the chequered flag dropped, Cameron Hill snuck through in 20th.

Q2

All but two cars recorded a time before the final flurry, with Nick Percat and Macauley Jones the exceptions.

By contrast, Dick Johnson Racing’s Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale were the only cars not to venture out at the end of the second 15-minute session, confident that their times (which had them first and third) would be good enough to get them into Q3.

That very much backfired, with times rapidly improving in the closing stages to leave Davison and De Pasquale to share the seventh row later this afternoon.

Kostecki again wound up on top, his 1:49.8622s the fastest time of the day thus far.

It looked as if Percat and James Courtney might sneak through into Q3 until Jack Le Brocq and Andre Heimgartner bumped them at the very last moment.

Nevertheless, four Mustangs still made it through to Q3, with eight Fords in the top 14.

Q3

With only 10 minutes in play for Q3 at a long circuit, the bulk of the action did not play out until the dying stages.

Chaz Mostert set a 1:50.2098s to briefly go to P1, but that would be shortlived as Cam Waters nudged ahead before Kostecki blitzed the field.

Kostecki went more than three tenths faster than his Q2 flyer, and ended up with a 0.3668s margin over an in-form Thomas Randle.

For Randle, who set the pace in Practice 1, that matches his career-best from the 2022 OTR SuperSprint which infamously went awry when he stalled at the start.

Waters ended up third from Broc Feeney, with Mostert and van Gisbergen booking their spots on the third row.

Behind them in the 10 was Matt Payne, Will Brown, Heimgartner and Le Brocq.

Results: Qualifying for Race 1, 2023 OTR SuperSprint