Van Gisbergen edges McLaughlin by 0.0001s for provisional pole at Clipsal 500

Van Gisbergen

Defending Virgin Australia Supercars Champion, Shane Van Gisbergen, will head into the opening Top Ten Shootout of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship in top spot after qualifying fastest on the Clipsal 500 Adelaide track this afternoon.

Just 0.0001 seconds separated Van Gisbergen and Shell V-Power Racing Team's Scott McLaughlin, who went into qualifying with the fastest time following today's practice sessions.

Van Gisbergen said his team made adjustments following this morning's practice and they paid off in qualifying.

"We made some tweaks to make it better over the bumps in particular and that really upset the handling so we came back and found a pretty good balance," he said.

"The car is fast on this new tire and I'm really liking it."

In the opening practice session of the day, it was four-time Clipsal 500 champion, Jamie Whincup (Red Bull Holden Racing Team) who recorded the fastest time, before McLaughlin recorded the quickest time of the second session.

McLaughlin set the mark of 1:19.7807 midway through this afternoon's qualifying before Van Gisbergen pipped that time by the narrowest of margins on his final lap.

"I felt straight away when I got in the car today, I felt pretty comfortable," McLaughlin said.

"There's a lot of new parts on the car and it's just good to see that it's paying off at the moment."

Rick Kelly continued his impressive form this weekend, setting the third fastest time ahead of two-time Clipsal 500 Champion, James Courtney and Chaz Mostert.

"We did a lot of miles on the new tire on testing day," Kelly said.

"I'm really excited to see how tomorrow's race plays out on that new rubber because I think it will be a little bit different behavior wise."

Defending Clipsal 500 Champion, Nick Percat recorded the 11th fastest time this afternoon.

Tomorrow's Top Ten Shootout will be between; Shane Van Gisbergen, Scott McLaughlin, Rick Kelly, James Courtney, Chaz Mostert, Fabian Coulthard, Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom, Cameron Waters and David Reynolds.

The Shootout will determine which driver will start from ARMOR ALL Pole Position for the first of this weekend's two 250km races on the Adelaide street circuit.

Shell V-Power Racing Team drivers Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard have booked themselves a start in tomorrow’s Top 10 Shootout at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide, with two solid laps in qualifying this afternoon.

No. 12 – Shell V-Power Racing Ford – Fabian Coulthard
Qualifying Position: p6
Fastest Lap: 1.19.8908

"It’s a good start. We’ve been chasing the car a bit, but that’s also about me adjusting to the car and the different set-up that we have in the cars for 2017.

"It’s great to have Scott in the garage next door, as he has gelled quickly this car and says that he understands this style of car as it’s like his old Volvo, so he’s a good person to learn from."

No. 17 – Shell V-Power Racing Ford – Scott McLaughlin
Qualifying Position: p2
Fastest Lap: 1:19.7807

"I would have been disappointed if I wasn’t in the top 10. We had a great test at Eastern Creek, and felt comfortable in the car and this is icing on the cake. This is for the guys. They’ve worked very hard, there are lots of new parts on the car and it’s good to see it is all paying off now.

"There are still little things we need to work on to be completely comfortable, but it’s a fantastic start. A great start not only for me, but also to have Fabs in the Top 10 Shootout and two Shell V-Power Fords in the Top 10 is awesome."

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