Mostert tops qualifying, van Gisbergen to start last

CHAZ Mostert set a record pace to top Friday qualifying at the VALO Adelaide 500, in a disastrous session for champion-elect Shane van Gisbergen.

Van Gisbergen will start Saturday’s opening 250km leg from last on the 25-car grid after making a mistake on his attempt at a qualifying flyer.

The 15-minute qualifying session set the field for a Top 10 Shootout on Saturday that will decide pole position for the afternoon’s race.

Mostert locked himself in as the last Shootout runner by recording a 1:18.6763s best after the chequered flag fell.

That knocked Dick Johnson Racing’s Anton De Pasquale back to second, while Scott Pye continued his promising weekend for Team 18 in third.

Tickford pair James Courtney and Cam Waters ended up fourth and fifth ahead of David Reynolds, James Golding, Andre Heimgartner, Todd Hazelwood and Thomas Randle.

Retiring Grove Racing driver Lee Holdsworth narrowly missed out on a Shootout berth and will start 11^th.

Will Davison had been fastest after the first runs on 1:19.2614s but tumbled to 15^th place amid a flurry of late lap times.

Van Gisbergen’s run in the dying stages came unstuck with a lock-up and off-track excursion at the final corner.

Teammate Broc Feeney matched the previous qualifying lap record – set by van Gisbergen in 2017 – but that was only good enough for 17^th on the resurfaced circuit.

Mostert’s heroics came in a Walkinshaw Andretti United Commodore donned with an early 1990s Holden Racing Team throwback livery this weekend as the team farewells Holden.

“It’s obviously pretty emotional, obviously the last weekend for Holden,” said Mostert.

“Any time you can top the session in Supercars is always exhilarating – I don’t know the last one we have done in qualifying, it has been a little while.

“I’m just proud of the team, we really chased the car from the first practice yesterday arvo, we stuck to our guns and kept making the car better and better and then obviously it was fast enough to top that session.

“There’s still a little bit of work that we can do but overall, the car was a lot more comfortable to drive than what we did in the first session, so just really proud of the team effort and everyone’s hard work.”

While Mostert brought celebration to the WAU garage it was a different story for teammate Nick Percat, who managed just 20^th.

The session was similarly sweet and sour for Team 18 as Mark Winterbottom’s 21^st-placed run contrasted starkly with Pye’s heroics.

A third practice session will take place on Saturday morning prior to the Top 10 Shootout and the afternoon’s 250km race.

RESULTS: Qualifying for Race 33, 2022 VALO Adelaide 500