Fast 5: The top Dunlop Series qualifiers of 2024
The 2024 Dunlop Super2 Series was a hotly-contested affair that went right down to the wire in a thrilling finale at the VAILO Adelaide 500.
It was a season built off brilliant race performances, but speed over one lap wholly dictated terms. So, who was fastest?
Honourable mentions
Although they were championship contenders right up until the final metres of the 2024 season in Adelaide, both Aaron Cameron and Kai Allen don't feature in this top five list. Though they had the fourth and fifth-best average start of the season of the drivers who competed in every round at 6.50 and 6.67, but their respective seasons were characterised by consistently strong race performances. In saying that. both Cameron and Allen were the only drivers outside of this top five to claim pole positions in 2024, with Allen's sole Boost Mobile Pole Award coming in Race 2 at the Bathurst 500, whilst Cameron's two poles came in Races 10 and 12 at the Bathurst 1000 and Adelaide.
5) Jarrod Hughes: 5.83 (1 pole)
The Super2 Rookie of the Year also proved to have the highest average qualifying position of any first-year driver this year, well clear of his Erebus Academy stablemate and 2023 Super3 champion Jobe Stewart's 8.17. The latest of a long line of Norwell Motorplex prodigies, Hughes only started outside the top seven on the grid twice all season, and claimed his maiden Dunlop Series pole at Sandown in September.
=3) Brad Vaughan: 5.25 (2 poles)
Strong one-lap pace was once again a feature of the highly-rated South Australian's sophomore year in Super2 with Tickford Autosport. Vaughan replicated his 2023 efforts by claiming two pole positions this season at Perth and Bathurst, and had the second-highest qualifying average of any driver to contest the full Super2 Series this year. The 20-year-old was in contention for the 2024 Boost Mobile Pole Award until the final race in Adelaide, and was also able to convert his one-lap pace into a long-awaited maiden Super2 race win on Sunday at Sandown, hours before making his Repco Supercars Championship debut in Matt Chahda's wildcard Camaro. Vaughan is now a free agent for the 2025 Dunlop Series, with Tickford signing Reuben Goodall in his place for next season.
=3) Cooper Murray: 5.25 (2 poles)
The 2024 Dunlop Series was a case of what could've been for Cooper Murray at Eggleston Motorsport. Two pole positions in the first three races were a big statement to start the season for the 23-year-old, however three non-classifications from the first four races completely killed off any chances of contending for a title charge. Murray's raw speed and talent immediately transferred into his main game debut in Triple Eight's wildcard Camaro at Darwin, qualifying for a Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout in just his second career start. Continued bad luck in the development series (where he picked up four DNF's in the first eight races), saw Murray switch his attention to the main game after the Sandown round, with his season concluding with an unexpected stand-in drive at the VAILO Adelaide 500 for Jack Le Brocq at Erebus Motorsport, for whom he will drive full-time next year.
2) Jack Perkins: 4.25 (2 poles)
A two-round cameo for Blanchard Racing Team enduro signing Jack Perkins was purely intended to get crucial race fitness under his belt in a rebuilt Mustang that was crashed heavily by Aaron Love at Bathurst last year. Few could've expected what was to come, with two pole positions underlining the pace of the retro-liveried #79. In his four qualifying sessions this season, Perkins recorded qualifying efforts of first, sixth, first, and ninth. The wily veteran was also able to convert both of his pole positions into race wins and play spoiler amid the title battle raging on between Zach Bates, Aaron Cameron, and Kai Allen.
1) Zach Bates: 4.06 (2 poles)
It's no surprise that the 2024 Boost Mobile Pole Champion also has the best average qualifying record of all 30 drivers to have competed in the Dunlop Super2 Series this year. The qualifying performances of Zach Bates throughout the 2024 season ultimately proved to the biggest advantage for the 20-year-old in his title fight, even if his Pole Award was won after he qualified second for the final race in Adelaide. Only twice did Bates start outside the top five all season; Race 5 in Townsville where he qualified eighth, and Race 9 in Bathurst where he was a lowly 12th after suffering a puncture on his flying lap. Two front row qualifying performances when it mattered most in Adelaide, including pole for Race 11 on Saturday, gave the Canberran a perfect platform to claim the 2024 Dunlop Super2 Series.
