Race 8 Qualifying
In the first ten-minute session, drivers headed out on the Dunlop SuperSoft tyre, the first time this compound has been run this weekend. Drivers needed to be on-form from the start of the first lap, as the Formula 1 style elimination qualifying meant that drivers below the top 10 at the end of the ten minutes would not advance to the next for a shot for pole.
After all of the first flying laps were completed, Ryan Wood slotted into second with a 1.27.321, approx. three tenths behind the in-form Brodie Kostecki. Payne sat in fifth with a 1.27.536, with Andre Heimgartner being the lead Brad Jones Racing car in fourteenth, with a 1.28.160.
With five minutes to go, drivers came into the lane for a fresh set of Dunlop SuperSoft tyres before going out for one last push lap. In a bid to divert from traditional strategy and save a set of tyres, Dick Johnson Racing elected not to send Kostecki out for a second lap, hoping that the first lap set would keep him in the top ten.
Payne improved to a 1.27.276, which provisionally put him in second. Wood was able to set a purple sector 1 and put together a 1.27.025, mere hundredths behind Kostecki and just ahead of his Walkinshaw team-mate, Chaz Mostert. Heimgartner was able to put in a great lap to finish the first part of the session in eighth with a 1.27.384. Cam Waters was unable to make the top 10 after a big slide through the turn thirteen/fourteen complex, which cost him a lot of time.
At the close of the first session, Kostecki sat on provisional pole ahead of Wood and Mostert. Payne finished the session in fifth, ahead of Heimgartner, the only Brad Jones Racing car in the top ten.
In the second half of Race 8 qualifying, Kostecki started where he left off and put in a 1.26.897 in his first flying lap. With five minutes to go, Payne, Wood and Heimgartner headed out for a one-lap shootout. This meant they got no opportunity to go again if they made a mistake on their laps.
Wood was able to slot into a provisional third with a 1.27.513, but was quickly jumped by Payne with a 1.27.155, who was also on a used tyre. Heimgartner went into eighth with a 1.27.767. After all drivers had finished their laps, Kostecki finished at the top of the time sheets, with Payne finishing in third, Wood in fifth and Heimgartner in ninth.
In a huge blow for General Motors, none of its cars made the top 10 in qualifying for the first time in thirty-six years.
Drivers did not have much time to rest as qualifying for the rescheduled Race 9 commenced 25 minutes after the end of qualifying for Race 8.
Race 9 Qualifying
In a change from the earlier qualifying session, drivers has to qualify on the Dunlop Soft tyre compound, which had been run during practice yesterday.
After the first flying laps in session 1, James Golding headed the timesheets with a 1.26.285, marginally ahead of Wood with a 1.26.293. Payne and Heimgartner both sat below the elimination line, sitting in fourteenth and fifteenth.
On his second flying lap, Payne headed to the top with a 1.26.002 with five seconds to go. He was quickly eclipsed by Kostecki with a 1.25.882. With three green sectors, Wood improved into third with a 1.26.140, while Heimgartner was eliminated by finishing in sixteenth with a 1.26.927, again being the lead Brad Jones Racing car.
In the second session, Broc Feeney led the field with a 1.25.933, over four tenths ahead of the top Kiwi Payne, in fourth. Wood sat in eighth, just behind his teammate.
Drivers headed out again with three minutes to go. Wood was able to go to the top with a 1.25.873, over a hundredth ahead of Will Brown. Payne finished the session in eighth.
Wood finished the session on top, leaving him on pole for Race 9. His achievement also marks the GR Supra’s first pole in Supercars.
Race 8 kicks off at 12:20pm today.
