Melbourne V8 Supercars: Fabian Coulthard takes pole

Fabian Coulthard led team-mate Jason Bright in a Brad Jones Holden one-two in qualifying for V8 Supercars' non-championship races at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Coulthard put himself clear of the pack with a 1m55.6682s lap, 0.3491 seconds ahead of Bright. The latter will fall to fourth on the grid, though, due to a penalty for failing to go directly to the pits after first practice.

Adelaide race two winner Shane van Gisbergen jumped from the foot of the top 10 to third in his Tekno Holden in the closing moments.

Triple 8 duo Craig Lowndes and champion Jamie Whincup complete an all-Holden top five, with David Reynolds the top Ford driver in sixth.

Ford Performance Racing's lead drivers Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom share row five.

Highest qualifier for the new manufacturers was Nissan man Michael Caruso in 12th.

But the Erebus Mercedes program was buoyed by Tim Slade putting his Rosenberg-entered car 14th on the grid, a major step forward over Adelaide.

Results

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Behind
1. Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Holden 1m55.6682s +0.0000s
2. Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden 1m56.0173s +0.3491s
3. Shane van Gisbergen Tekno Holden 1m56.0444s +0.3762s
4. Craig Lowndes Triple 8 Holden 1m56.2054s +0.5372s
5. Jamie Whincup Triple 8 Holden 1m56.4227s +0.7545s
6. David Reynolds Rod Nash/FPR 1m56.6233s +0.9551s
7. Jonothan Webb Tekno Holden 1m56.7129s +1.0447s
8. Scott McLaughlin GRM Holden 1m56.7223s +1.0541s
9. Will Davison FPR Ford 1m56.8193s +1.1511s
10. Mark Winterbottom FPR Ford 1m56.8625s +1.1943s
11. Russell Ingall Walkinshaw/HRT Holden 1m57.2019s +1.5337s
12. Michael Caruso Nissan 1m57.2178s +1.5496s
13. Todd Kelly Nissan 1m57.2748s +1.6066s
14. Tim Slade Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes 1m57.3251s +1.6569s
15. Garth Tander HRT Holden 1m57.3650s +1.6968s
16. Tony D'Alberto D'Alberto Holden 1m57.4147s +1.7465s
17. Scott Pye Dumbrell Holden 1m57.4172s +1.7490s
18. David Wall Britek/BJR Holden 1m57.4390s +1.7708s
19. James Courtney HRT Holden 1m57.4600s +1.7918s
20. Rick Kelly Nissan 1m57.4779s +1.8097s
21. James Moffat Nissan 1m57.4882s +1.8200s
22. Alex Davison Schwerkolt/FPR Ford 1m57.5041s +1.8359s
23. Alexandre Premat GRM Holden 1m57.5220s +1.8538s
24. Lee Holdsworth Erebus Mercedes 1m57.6629s +1.9947s
25. Jonny Reid DJR Ford 1m57.8355s +2.1673s
26. Dean Fiore Dumbrell Holden 1m58.0042s +2.3360s
27. Tim Blanchard DJR Ford 1m58.2013s +2.5331s
28. Maro Engel Erebus Mercedes 1m58.9306s +3.2624s