Kostecki, Wood claim Saturday poles in Christchurch

Brodie Kostecki and Ryan Wood have shared the Saturday Boost Mobile Pole Awards at the ITM Christchurch Super 440.

Kostecki will start from pole for the first race of the day, as he aims to close down a 40-point gap to Wood in the fight for the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy.

However, the Kiwi fought back in Race 12 Qualifying, as a strategic tyre gamble paid huge dividends, however the Kiwi could find himself under investigation for a potential impeding incident late in the session.

Race 11 will begin at 12:45pm NZST/10:45am AEST, whilst Race 12 will begin at 4:10pm NZST/2:10pm AEST.

Race 11

In Q1, Matt Payne put down the fastest time of the weekend to that point on a 1:21.1598s, continuing Penrite Racing's blistering form, however all eyes were on some big names back in the pack who had to fight to progress to Q2.

Ultimately, the biggest name to miss out would be Chaz Mostert, who fired off the road at Turn 3 in his final run, and would only manage 14th.

Both Tickford cars would also miss the cut, as would all bar one Chevrolet, with Jayden Ojeda putting his PremiAir Camaro into Q2.

Q2 was extended back out to 12 minutes for today's running, having been shortened to eight minutes with the compact schedule yesterday.

Immediately Payne went back to the top on a 1:21.4831s, however it was Ryan Wood who would go faster not just once but twice, after running wide at Turn 3 on his first lap, his second lap of a 1:21.3439s would be the benchmark to chase.

Wood's maker wouldn't last, with the Mobil 1 Truck Assist Toyota tumbling back to sixth in the final order as the final runs once again reset the practice/qualifying lap record.

Broc Feeney and Race 10 winner Kai Allen briefly spent time at the top of the timing screen, however it was Brodie Kostecki who set the fastest time of the weekend on a 1:21.0331s.

His closest rival would prove to be Matt Payne, however a mistake on his first flyer proved costly, and although he would set the fastest first sector on his final lap, he would miss out on pole by just 0.0344s.

Aaron Cameron had a welcome return to form to qualify third ahead of Allen, with Broc Feeney set to line up alongside rival Wood on the third row.

Will Brown, James Golding, Andre Heimgartner, and Ojeda rounded out the top 10.

Race 12

After a brief pause, all 24 cars rolled back out, and for the first time had the Super Soft tyres bolted on.

With new parc ferme conditions coming into effect after this session, teams were left with an awkward dilemma, given the first race of the day will be back on a Soft tyre that demands different set up characteristics.

Immediately Ryan Wood set himself up perfectly for a run at pole, setting a 1:21.2129s on his first run, and the electing to wait it out and bank his second Super Soft set for Q2.

No one would beat Wood's marker, even with track evolution, however there would once again be several big names missing the cut for the top 10.

Both Tickford cars once again missed out, Cam Waters in 12th, and Thomas Randle back in 21st, as did Chaz Mostert in 15th, and they were joined by Will Brown, who made a mistake on his final run to go 16th.

Ryan Wood gave himself an initial run on his used tyre, and went to the top briefly before Matt Payne jumped him on a 1:21.4352s.

However, that was merely a taster for the #2 Toyota, which was the only car to roll out on a brand new tyre for his final run.

All the young gun had to do was just piece together a clean lap, and it was in a completely different league to the rest of the field, a 1:21.0946s smashing next-best Matt Payne's 1:21.3747s.

However, there could be a potential question mark hanging over the Kiwi, who baulked Jayden Ojeda as the PremiAir Camaro was completing it's final lap.

Race 11 polesitter Kostecki will start alongside Race 10 winner Kai Allen on the second row of the grid, with the top 10 rounded out by Anton De Pasquale, Broc Feeney, James Golding, Aaron Cameron, Jack Le Brocq, and Ojeda.