Anton De Pasquale has put his Bathurst heartbreak behind him to claim provisional pole in Friday qualifying at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.
The #18 Cub Cadet Camaro was the only Chevrolet inside the top 10 at the end of 30 minutes, pipping Ford star Broc Feeney by just 0.0690s in a frantic end to Boost Mobile Qualifying.
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However, there was another big story further down the order, as Bathurst champion Brodie Kostecki was a shock omission from the Shootout field, while Will Brown was under investigation.
It was set to be a challenging 30 minutes, with the previous session seeing water from the Turn 2 tyre barrier running out onto the circuit, while dark clouds were also looming in the distance.
Amid the guessing game over whether or not it would rain before the end of the half-hour, many got straight into their work. Having been unable to set a qualifying simulation after throwing a drive belt in Practice 2, Matt Payne recovered quickly to go fastest early on a 1:09.4527s, with Practice 1 pace setter James Golding in behind.
It took a few laps for times to begin tumbling in the second run, with Cam Waters going fastest on a 1:09.3764s, while Kostecki also jumped to second as the track became drenched in sunshine.
Chaz Mostert then put Toyota on top approaching halfway, a 1:09.3460s putting 0.03s on Waters, and 0.07s on Kostecki in a closely-fought affair.
Of the 10 Finals Drivers, four were outside the top 10 at the halfway mark, with Ryan Wood just 0.0085s away from the top 10 in 11th, Brown 14th, Kai Allen 18th having picked up several kerb strikes, and Jack Le Brocq 20th.
Looking to lift himself into the top 10, Brown ran down the escape road at Turn 11 after locking the rears, with Aaron Cameron joining him seconds later after setting a fastest first sector.
Brown, meanwhile, was placed under investigation for an alleged impeding incident on Le Brocq.
Le Brocq caught Brown on the run to the final corner, the latter moving off the racing line at the last moment.
When asked about the alleged incident, Brown said: “I moved over and let him go, but we’ll wait and see if it was too late, to be honest. I’m not too sure. I haven’t watched it back yet.
“A bit confusing, a lot of people had headlights on, not running, so thought it was (Cam) Waters behind me who was on a warming lap. But moved out of the road, so I’ll have a look at it.”
Cooper Murray also found trouble in his new ride, the #36 PremiAir Chevrolet clouting the wall at the exit of the Beach Chicane after tripping awkwardly over the Turn 10 kerb, missing the final run with damage.
While all that was going on, Feeney went to the top on a 1:09.2868s, with Thomas Randle jumping to second, just 0.0078s off the benchmark.
The rain held off for the final run, with the whole field sans Murray having one final chance to progress through to the Saturday Shootout. Both Wood and Brown would lift themselves into the Shootout field with late flyers, while Allen would get in right as the chequered flag came out, vaulting into ninth late.
That would bump out Kostecki, the Bathurst winner unable to respond after picking up repeated kerb strikes on his final run. The #17 Ford will start 11th on Saturday, with Le Brocq the only other Finals contender to miss out in 17th.
“I made a little mistake on my last run through the last corner, but I’m not even sure if we would’ve made it in anyway,” Kostecki said.
“Was struggling in two corners in Turn 4 and just down the back straight. So a little bit to work on, but I know the race car will be fine.
“Little bit to work on for the race, but I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
While attention was on the back end of the 10, De Pasquale leapt to the top late on a 1:09.0770s, with Feeney, Payne, and Andre Heimgartner all within a tenth of a second in a tight top four. Mostert, Wood, Brown, Randle, Allen, and Cam Waters completed the top 10.
Saturday’s Supercars action commences with the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 1.35pm AEDT.
This article initially appeared on Supercars.com and was republished with permission
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