Van Gisbergen beats Kostecki to first Perth pole

A clever strategy has catapulted Shane van Gisbergen to ARMOR ALL Pole Position for the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint opener.

Van Gisbergen, who arrived in Perth 86 points behind Coca-Cola Chevrolet driver Kostecki, set his time early in Q3.

The Kiwi had the track all to himself and delivered a lap that went unchallenged as the heat settled over CARCO.com.au Raceway.

The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver’s 54.3625s was enough for a 47th pole and second of 2023, with Kostecki 0.0257s down.

Penrite Racing driver David Reynolds, who topped Friday practice, was third despite showing strong pace in Q2.

Reynolds suffered a shift-cut drama and will share the second row with Matt Stone Racing’s Jack Le Brocq, with Matt Payne making it a Penrite three-five.

“We really struggled yesterday, and today it came alive,” van Gisbergen said.

“I feel like I’m wobbling, I can’t drive the thing, I just drive around and do what it does.

“We still had temp in the car, but the sun’s out and the track’s getting hotter and hotter.

“It’s a long session, we picked apart when we thought where there would be no cars on the track.

“We went around by ourselves, I’m really surprised it stood up… can’t thank the team enough.”

There were a number of shocks in the three-part session — notably, Chaz Mostert (#25 NTI Mobil 1 Mustang) was 15th, with Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang) and Cam Waters (#6 Monster Mustang) 18th and 19th.

Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro) and Will Brown (#9 Coca-Cola Camaro) failed to reach Q2 and will start the 42-lap Race 7 from 21st and 22nd.

Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang) topped the Q1 times with a 54.4334s ahead of Bryce Fullwood (#14 Middy's Camaro) and Todd Hazelwood (#3 CoolDrive Mustang).

Heimgartner, Brown, Cameron Hill (#35 Truck Assist Camaro), James Golding (#31 Nulon Camaro) and Jack Smith (#4 SCT Logistics Camaro) missed out on a Q2 berth.

Strategy continued to play a role as cars returned for Q2, and Reynolds flexed his muscle with a 54.2133s ahead of Davison and Le Brocq,

The big names continued to fall as the temperatures rose, with Broc Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro), Hazelwood and Mark Winterbottom (#18 DEWALT Camaro) joining Mostert, De Pasquale and Waters in the drop zone.

Feeney missed a Q3 berth by just 0.0631s, with Nick Percat out-qualifying teammate Mostert. Winterbottom, meanwhile, will launch from 13th for his 600th race.

Kostecki turned in a 54.5517s in the early stages of Q3, before van Gisbergen edged ahead with a 54.3625s.

The two Camaro drivers' times held firm as the remainder of the Q3 runners put down a lap, with James Courtney (#5 Snowy Rivers Caravans Mustang) sixth ahead of Davison.

Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang), Tim Slade (#23 Nulon Camaro) and Fullwood rounded out the top 10.

Race 7 of the Repco Supercars Championship will commence at 3:45pm local time/5:45pm AEST.

Tickets for this weekend’s Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint are on sale on Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.