Davison praises quick fix after electrical fire
Will Davison praised his mechanics for a quick fix after an electrical fire scuppered his first qualifying session.
Davison was forced to abort his first Sunday morning qualifying effort due to an electrical issue.
The veteran, who won Saturday's race from pole, dragged his smoking Mustang into the lane.
The #17 Shell V-Power Racing Team Mustang was second at the time of the issue.
Smoke filled the cabin of Davison's car as he approached the end of the circuit.
He managed to return to the lane, but was unable to set a second flying lap.
Shane van Gisbergen scored pole for the race, which will start at 1:05pm local time.
Davison plummeted to 11th, with mechanics working frantically to repair the car.
A plug failed, causing an electrical short. A wiring loom was burnt out, and the battery was later replaced.
Davison managed to alight from his car, but could only watch on as rivals went faster.
Van Gisbergen undercut Davison's practice/qualifying lap record set 24 hours earlier.
"It was like a bad cigar, not that I smoke," Davison said.
"It was obviously pretty stressful, that first session.
"I just wanted to get it back, I didn't want to cause a red [flag].
"I was struggling to breathe for about half a lap there.
"It was a good way to repay the boys. I knew we had a good time in us, it fuelled the motivation."
Somehow, the team managed to repair the car in time for Race 26 qualifying, which began just five minutes later.
Davison was again second after the opening runs in the second session.
The 39-year-old fired to pole with an even quicker lap, Davison scoring his eighth pole of the season.
Speaking afterwards, Davison said he was determined to reward his team's quick fix.
"When the adrenaline's up, just use it as fuel and motivation," Davison said after the second session.
"Just tried to stay calm and tried not to overdrive.
"I had to repay the guys, they would have been disappointed.
"These things happen, it's a massive team effort, they've been faultless.
"Little gremlin there, which was pretty nasty.
"Just thankful they fixed it and we could show how fast this Shell V-Power Mustang is."
Race 25 will commence at 1:05pm local time, before Race 26 at 4:20pm.
