Four rounds in: chasing the ARMOR ALL Pole Champion Award

With one third of the season gone, the race for the ARMOR ALL Pole Champion Award remains an even contest.

Through four events of the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship, 11 of 31 ARMOR ALL Poles have been decided.

• Four perfect, six fails: 2021's best and worst qualifiers

Holden has claimed six poles to Ford’s five, with the Blue Oval sweeping the poles at last weekend’s OTR SuperSprint at The Bend.

At only one event, the second round at Sandown, has Holden swept the poles. At Mount Panorama and Symmons Plains, both marques spend time at P1.

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Series leader Shane van Gisbergen leads the way with four poles, ahead of Cameron Waters (three). Both drivers took poles in Bathurst and Tasmania.

Anton De Pasquale claimed his first pole at The Bend Motorsport Park, and added a second just minutes later.

Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert (Sandown) and Kelly Grove Racing’s Andre Heimgartner (Tailem Bend) have each taken a pole in 2021.

It’s a marked difference to the last four seasons; Scott McLaughlin claimed four straight Pole Champion Awards between 2017 and 2020.

McLaughlin was the pole king

McLaughlin scored a whopping 59 poles between 2017 and 2020.

Through four events in 2020, with 10 poles awards, McLaughlin led the leaderboard on four, ahead of Jamie Whincup (three), van Gisbergen (two) and Heimgartner (one).

Whincup is the key name missing from the 2021 list so far, but has claimed four front row starts.

In 2019, after four events, McLaughlin again led the way with six; Fabian Coulthard, Mark Winterbottom, Mostert and van Gisbergen each had one.

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In 2018, McLaughlin had four to van Gisbergen’s three, with Whincup on two and Craig Lowndes one.

In 2017, McLaughlin had six to van Gisbergen's two, with Whincup and Coulthard scoring one each.

Along with Whincup, several more names have the potential to join the list in 2021.

Will Davison, the 2012 Pole Award Champion, scored his best qualifying result so far this season at the weekend with second for Race 10.

Brad Jones Racing is battling with one-lap pace, but the Albury team’s race pace is perhaps the best of the field. In 2020, Nick Percat and Todd Hazelwood scored their maiden poles.

Waters has scored three poles in 2021

Other drivers in the field to have sat on ARMOR ALL Pole include David Reynolds, James Courtney, Tim Slade, Scott Pye, Winterbottom and Coulthard.

The next round at Winton could be the most open event yet of 2021; only six active drivers have scored pole at the Victorian circuit.

Mostert leads the way with five, ahead of Winterbottom (four), Whincup (three), Coulthard and Courtney (two) and Tim Slade (one).

The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to Victoria for the Winton SuperSprint across May 28-30. Tickets are available here.

The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo with highlights on 7 and 7 Plus.

ARMOR ALL Pole Champion Award winners

1999: Mark Skaife
2000: Craig Lowndes
2001: Mark Skaife
2002: Mark Skaife, Marcos Ambrose
2003: Marcos Ambrose
2004: Mark Skaife
2005: Craig Lowndes
2006: Mark Skaife
2007: Mark Winterbottom
2008: Jamie Whincup
2009: Jamie Whincup
2010: Jamie Whincup
2011: Jamie Whincup
2012: Will Davison
2013: Jamie Whincup
2014: Jamie Whincup
2015: Chaz Mostert
2016: Shane van Gisbergen
2017: Scott McLaughlin
2018: Scott McLaughlin
2019: Scott McLaughlin
2020: Scott McLaughlin