Payne, Mostert score Ford pole double

SATURDAY’S Supercars action at Albert Park has begun with a Ford fightback.

Mustang drivers Matt Payne, Chaz Mostert and Cam Waters took out the top three places in both 15-minute qualifying sessions that set the grids for the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning sprints.

Payne scored a maiden career pole in the first session before Mostert pipped the Kiwi in the second, both benefitting from two runs having saved a set of tyres on Thursday.

The results marked the first qualifying trifectas for Ford during the Gen3 era that began in 2023.

Qualifying Race 3

Payne’s maiden pole came in thrilling circumstances at the end of the first 15-minute hitout.

A light shower of rain pre-session added to the unknowns, but was not enough to stop rapid lap speed from the outset in the cool and overcast conditions.

Jack Le Brocq headed the field on 1:46.9351s over Payne leading into the crucial final minutes before the seemingly inevitable Triple Eight onslaught took hold.

Will Brown’s first flying lap of the session reset the benchmark to 1:46.8726s before Broc Feeney went marginally faster, temporarily setting up a Triple Eight front-row lockout.

However, the trio of Ford stars had other ideas – Mostert flashing to the top with just seconds left on the clock, before being bested by Waters as the chequered flag fell.

Payne though went quicker still, utilising his second tyre set to record a 1:46.6541s that proved just 0.0073s clear of Waters but good enough for P1.

“It’s obviously huge for me, my first pole, and for the team it’s fantastic for us to get this result,” said Payne.

“I kind of got lucky because I was able to use two sets (of tyres) to give me a bit of a jump on that second lap.”

Feeney hung onto fourth behind the three Mustangs, while Le Brocq improved late to knock Brown back to sixth.

David Reynolds, Tim Slade, Richie Stanaway and Thomas Randle rounded out the top 10.

Anton De Pasquale managed 12^th despite an early clout of the wall at Turn 8, while Dick Johnson Racing teammate Will Davison was a disappointing 20^th.

Also down the order was Friday hero Mark Winterbottom, who managed just 17^th, and Matt Stone Racing’s Nick Percat in 18^th.

Qualifying Race 4

Percat set the early pace in the second session before Mostert went to the top with a 1:46.4835s at the halfway mark.

Inside the final five minutes, Payne again fired a major shot to go 0.0500s clear of Mostert and into P1.

The odds of a Payne pole double shortened when Triple Eight pair Feeney and Brown slotted into just fifth and eighth as the session wound down.

Waters then went third behind Payne and Mostert, missing the top spot by 0.0764s, before Mostert returned on his second set of tyres to clip 0.1108s from the Grove Mustang’s best.

“The Optus rocket definitely came firing out today,” said Mostert of scoring the Boost Mobile Pole Award.

“Track conditions suited us a bit, we worked a little bit on the car, how we maximise our qualifying car.

“To go third and then first is a big sigh of relief that this old codger can still pump out a lap time!”

Percat’s early lap still proved good enough for fourth ahead of Bryce Fullwood, Feeney, De Pasquale, Davison, Brown and Le Brocq.

Winterbottom again struggled down in 23^rd, ahead only of Andre Heimgartner, who clobbered the outside wall at Turn 5 and did not set a representative time.

Race 3 of the weekend will take place from 5:35pm local time.

RESULTS: Qualifying for Race 3, 2024 MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint

RESULTS: Qualifying for Race 4, 2024 MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint