Payne surges to provisional Christchurch finale pole

An all-star top 10 will contest Sunday's all-important Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at the ITM Christchurch Super 440, with Matt Payne soaring to provisional pole for Race 13.

Payne powered to top spot to hold the best position for the Shootout, setting the fastest lap of the weekend ahead of James Golding, Brodie Kostecki and Broc Feeney.

It was a session of head-scratching for Walkinshaw TWG Racing, though, with Jason Richards Trophy leader Ryan Wood sneaking into the Shootout in eighth, with reigning champion teammate Chaz Mostert just missing out.

Will Brown, Anton De Pasquale, Kai Allen, Wood and Cam Waters all secured Shootout positions, with all eyes on Wood given the Richards Trophy battle.

Wood and Feeney both had their scares in Q1, running off the road at Turn 2 in separate incidents before easing through to the second segment of qualifying

However, no one could lay a glove on the Payne Ford, which was nearly 0.2s clear of his closest rival.

Q1

Fitted with DUNLOP Soft tyres, the full fleet of 24 Supercars hit the track for Q1. Feeney opened up with a 1:22.1454s, before times quickly tumbled. Wood jumped ahead with a 1:21.8007s before running off the road at Turn 2, where he spun on Friday morning.

Teams opted for converging tyre strategies early on, from new tyres to used tyres. Murray was fastest after the first laps with a 1:21.6668s, with Wood, Payne, Allen, Kostecki, Golding and Feeney behind.

All cars returned to the track with four minutes remaining, leaving Cameron, Gray, Reynolds, Randle, Ojeda and Fraser in the drop-zone. Feeney, though, put himself under pressure immediately with an off at Turn 2.

Brown clocked a 1:21.4950s to go fastest, before Kostecki (1:21.2673s) and Payne (1:21.1524s) lowered the number. Feeney tumbled down to 18th, only to shoot to fourth at the death behind Payne, Kostecki and Le Brocq with a 1:21.4487s.

All three Brad Jones Racing Supras missed out, with Gray, Reynolds and Fraser also eliminated. SCT Motorsport rookie Jackson Walls snuck in over former Super2 rival Gray by 0.05s.

Q2

The remaining 18 drivers returned to vie for the 10 Shootout positions, headlined by Jason Richards Trophy favourite Wood and closest rivals Kostecki, Feeney and Payne.

Feeney (1:21.4506s) and Wood (1:21.4919s) were separated by 0.04s as drivers laid down their first flying laps. Brown, Kostecki, Mostert and Payne slotted in behind, before Cameron split Mostert and Payne. Allen was on the bubble with a 1:22.1760s, just ahead of Murray, and behind De Pasquale and Waters.

Following an overnight engine change, Kostecki's Ford was fitted with fresh brake discs following complaints over vibrations. Kostecki and his rivals returned to the track with four minutes remaining, setting up a tense final push to reach the run-off.

Brown was first to improve with a 1:21.3258s, before Feeney lowered the number to a 1:21.2828. In a big statement, Payne clocked the fastest lap of the weekend with a 1:20.9703s, with Golding (1:21.1308s) and Kostecki (1:21.2745s) behind.

Wood and Mostert were eighth and 10th as the chequered flag unfurled, but neither driver improved. Attention turned to Cameron, who sat 18th. Cameron surged to ninth, eliminating Mostert.

Zach Bates, Le Brocq, Murray, Stewart, Randle, Ojeda and Walls were also eliminated.

The top 10 drivers return for the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 12:45pm local/10:45am AEST, which sets the grid for Race 13 at 3:05pm local/1:05pm AEST.