Davison scores pole for 500th race

Milestone man Will Davison has scored Race 16 pole at the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown.

Davison will start from the best possible position for his 500th ATCC/Supercars race.

It marked Davison’s third straight Darwin pole, and fifth ARMOR ALL Pole Position of 2022.

Anton De Pasquale made it a Shell V-Power Racing Team front row lockout.

Provisional pole man Andre Heimgartner was third ahead of series leader Shane van Gisbergen.

Davison’s pole-winning time proved 0.0011s quicker than his own practice/qualifying record set last year.

“I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself today, it’s a very special day,” he said.

“I don’t get caught up in milestones, but the team did such a nice thing for me this morning.

“To still put laps together like that at 500 races, it means so, so much to me.

“We’ve got to convert, but that’s what it’s all about."

Three-part qualifying began with a Shell V-Power Ford setting the early running.

De Pasquale set the pace in Q1 on a 1:05.423s ahead of van Gisbergen, Will Brown and Heimgartner.

The whole field was covered by 0.93s; Nick Percat missed out on a Q2 berth by just 0.02s.

Van Gisbergen turned up the wick in Q2 with a 1:05.276s, before Heimgartner went even quicker.

Heimgartner scored provisional pole with a 1:05.231s, unseating van Gisbergen to the tune of 0.04s.

Chaz Mostert jumped to third at the death, dropping Cam Waters out of the 10.

David Reynolds was first man out in the shootout, and fired in a 1:05.481s.

Mark Winterbottom went 0.12s faster; Jake Kostecki made an error and ran long at Turn 1.

De Pasquale shot to the top with a 1:05.236s, which was blown out of the water by Davison.

Davison’s 1:04.954s loomed large for Mostert, van Gisbergen and Heimgartner.

Mostert went 0.51s slower; van Gisbergen went quickest in the first sector, but took too much kerb at Turn 12.

That left Heimgartner as Davison’s only barrier, but the former was 0.31s off the benchmark.

It helped Davison score a 24th career pole and first since Race 11 in Perth, a race he went on to win.

Winterbottom, Mostert, Reynolds, Bryce Fullwood, Scott Pye and Kostecki rounded out the top 10.

The 38-lap Race 16 will commence at 3:25pm local time.

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