Waters, Mostert caught out as Feeney nails pole double

Broc Feeney has scored a Boost Mobile Pole double in Thursday's back-to-back Supercars qualifying sessions at Albert Park, with Ford stars Cam Waters and Chaz Mostert both caught out.

Triple Eight driver Feeney, who has won three of the last five Supercars races in Melbourne, is in the box seat to close the gap to points leader Waters.

Waters will start 22nd and sixth for the first two races. Mostert, meanwhile, will start 13th and 15th.

Both sessions were contested by 23 drivers, with crash damage incurred during Practice 2 sidelining Blanchard Racing Team veteran James Courtney.

However, it was an off for 2023 champion Brodie Kostecki that ultimately paved Waters' path to a rear-of-grid start for Thursday's race, with the Tickford Racing driver unable to recover after a brief stoppage.

Mostert suffered a similar fate, only managing 13th before falling slightly to 15th in the second session after grazing the wall through the fast Turn 8 section.

Reigning champion Will Brown qualified second and fifth, while Matt Stone Racing driver Cameron Hill was a clear standout, qualifying third and second.

"I'm stoked, two from two is awesome," said Feeney, who is 99 points behind Waters in the standings.

"We're just focusing on ourselves, I still feel like I can do a bit better job out there, I'm still making some small mistakes, but the team's done a great job, and I'm looking forward to this afternoon.

"I don't mind coming here, I've had a great run here the past couple of years.

"I feel like I'm starting to understand why, but I just enjoy coming here, and it's something Jamie [Whincup] has always said to me is that you always go good at the places you really enjoy going to, so this is just a fantastic weekend."

Race 4 qualifying

Thursday's first session turned on its head when Kostecki fired off at Turn 1, triggering a red flag. It set up a one-lap dash for drivers to score a strong result, and Waters proved the biggest loser.

All drivers bar Matt Payne rolled out, with the Penrite Racing driver sitting pretty with a 1:48.0095s.

By the end of the session, Feeney (1:47.7192s) had just 0.0166s over Brown (1:47.7358s), with Hill (1:47.7531s) an impressive third ahead of Jack Le Brocq (1:47.8331s).

Kostecki recovered to fifth with a 1:47.9197s ahead of Payne, with Richie Stanaway, Andre Heimgartner, James Golding and Anton De Pasquale rounding out the top 10. Chevrolets filled 10 of the top 12 positions, with Mostert only 13th.

The biggest victim was Waters, who followed up his hat-trick of poles in Sydney with a disastrous run to 22nd, one position behind teammate Thomas Randle.

Rookie Aaron Cameron, meanwhile, ended up 23rd after surviving a heart-stopping wall graze through the fast Turn 8 sweeper at the back of the circuit.

Race 5 qualifying

Keen to atone for his earlier frustration, Waters rolled out first and clocked a 1:48.0952s, but it was only good enough for ninth through the first runs.

As cars returned to the lane, Nick Percat led the way with a 1:47.6449s ahead of Le Brocq, Feeney, Heimgartner, Hill, Kostecki, Stanaway, Cooper Murray, Waters and Kai Allen, with Brown only 12th. Percat, Le Brocq and Feeney were covered by just 0.0888s.

Mostert, meanwhile, didn't record a flyer after mirroring Cameron's error in grazing the wall at Turn 8, and sat 20th. Mostert, Payne, Evans and Davison hadn't set a lap as drivers returned to the track.

Waters clocked a 1:47.4749s to jump to the top, but he again dropped down the order, albeit to sixth. Mostert improved, albeit only to 15th.

No one could hold a candle to Feeney, though, with the 22-year-old planting his Red Bull Ampol Camaro on top with a 1:47.1719s, some 0.2s clear of Hill.

Percat, Heimgartner, Brown, Waters, Stanaway, Le Brocq, Kostecki and Ryan Wood rounded out the top 10.

Race 4 will commence on Thursday afternoon at 5:50pm AEST, and is 19 laps or one lap after 6:28pm. Race 5 starts at 2:50pm on Friday, and is 19 laps or one lap after 3:28pm.