The foundations of surprise Best pole

Saturday’s shock pole by Zak Best was centred on driver performance, says engineer Dilan Talabani.

Tickford Racing wildcard Best scored a surprise ARMOR ALL Pole Position for the OTR SuperSprint opener.

Best, who has just four main game starts to his name, edged points leader Shane van Gisbergen by 0.02s.

The 20-year-old had been on the pace from the get-go, with Best third in Practice 1.

Best was ninth in Practice 2, and was fourth in Q2 prior to the final segment of qualifying.

The Benalla driver’s 1:47.816s proved too big a hurdle for his rivals to unseat.

Fellow wildcard Jordan Boys was a credible 17th in his Erebus-supported Image Racing Holden.

Amid speculation over tyres, Talabani was adamant it was the execution by the driver which proved the ultimate difference.

"It wasn’t me, it was the driver," Talabani told Supercars.com.

"He made a few mistakes in practice, but from the start of the day, he’s been on it.

"When we just saw was a demonstration of what he’s capable of.

"It was a mature delivery of lap time. He put clean laps together.

"He’s very relaxed. The car rolled out very strong, which helps massively.

"It’s easy from there, because you’re fine-tuning. It doesn’t put pressure on him or me to find speed.

"You’re tickling it along and making it suit his needs."

It brought Talabani full circle, with the Iraqi-born engineer skippering Andre Heimgartner to Tailem Bend success last May.

While at Kelly Grove Racing, Talabani oversaw Heimgartner’s dominant victory from pole.

Talabani left Braeside for Campbellfield, and has again shocked the paddock at The Bend.

This latest success, however, helped Talabani remind himself of what he can offer in Supercars.

It comes as Best looms to make the leap to the main game, with Tickford currently running four cars.

"I wasn’t prepared for this," Talabani said.

"There are cameras down here for a good reason.

"It’s comforting for me, personally, that I can do this job. It has made me realise that I have more to offer.

"You always doubt yourself when you leave somewhere. It’s given me confidence.

"I’m rapt for him. This is the start of his career. He can go on and secure a main game drive.

"To hopefully be part of that will be really cool."

The 24-lap Race 21 will commence at 4:15pm local time.