Matt Payne sweeps Sandown poles
Payne to start alongside Anton De Pasquale on front row
Chaz Mostert, Cam Waters, Will Brown all missed Top Ten Shootout
Matt Payne has clinched back-to-back pole positions at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500, as he eyes off maintaining his top seeding for the bp Adelaide Grand Final.
The Penrite Racing star was unstoppable throughout qualifying, and will start alongside Anton De Pasquale on the front row, the Team 18 star putting in a great performance in a do-or-die day for his title hopes.
Remarkably, three Finals Drivers didn't even make the Shootout, with Chaz Mostert just missing the top 10, whilst both Cam Waters and Will Brown are in dire straights following disastrous qualifying results.
Q1
Anton De Pasquale impressed early for Team 18, setting a 1:08.348s on his opening run, a time so stromg that the team elected to park the #18 Chevrolet for the final run.
There was pressure on for the final run, as Finals contenders Cam Waters, Chaz Mostert, and Will Brown all found themselves in the drop zone, the latter two having not set a lap.
Waters lifted comfortable to fifth in the final order, whilst Mostert wasn't as comfortable, but also found safety in 17th.
Brown, meanwhile, could only manage 19th with one final lap to run, and couldn't improve, tumbling out after complaining of an iffy downshift at Turn 1.
Likely needing a win to progress to Adelaide, the 2024 champion now faces a serious risk of elimination, with Jarrod Hughes, Rylan Gray, Jackson Walls, David Reynolds, and Aaron Cameron joining him as Q1 eliminations.
Kai Allen went fastest on a 1:08.090s.
Q2
Allen immediately improved upon his Q1 benchmark on a 1:08.171s, but once again it was De Pasquale leading the way after the first run, with fellow Chevrolet runners Zach Bates and Cooper Murray within a tenth.
Once again, there were plenty of Finals contenders on the outside looking in ahead of the green tyre runs, with Matt Payne 11th, Broc Feeney 15th, and Cam Waters in 17th. Brodie Kostecki was 16th, but had already locked himself in by virtue of his Saturday win.
Feeney and Payne engaged in some interesting games, Feeney doing everything in his power to steal a tow off Payne, including pulling into the Penrite Racing pit bay to remain behind the #19 Ford.
Payne then slammed on the anchors at the end of his out lap, with Feeney taking evasive action, but remaining behind the points leader.
It proved vital for Feeney to get the tow, as he scraped into the Shootout by 0.021s, ahead of a frustrated Mostert, who missed the cut despite being just a tenth and a half away from second.
Q2 was also disastrous for Cam Waters, who couldn't find any speed on his green set of tyres, and could only qualify 18th, a far cry from his podium efforts of Saturday.
Sandwiched between Mostert and Waters in the drop zone were Cameron Hill, Jayden Ojeda, Macauley Jones, Jack Le Brocq, Ryan Wood, and Jobe Stewart.
Matt Payne set provisional pole on a 1:07.886s, a new Gen3 qualifying record.
Top Ten Shootout
Feeney's initial benchmark was a 1:08.495s, which James Golding was unable to beat after a wild slide off the back of the exit kerb at Turn 4.
Andre Heimgartner slotted into second, though set the fastest middle sector, whilst Thomas Randle blew wide of the apex at Turn 1 after losing the rear on turn-in.
Brodie Kostecki became the new benchmark when he set a 1:08.386s, which Kai Allen looked on course to all but match before losing some time in sector three, slotting into third.
Murray emerged as a surprise contender for pole with a s strong run through the middle sector, and he even improved upon Kostecki's final sector to move the marker to 1:08.310s.
Bates looked on course to add to his Bathurst pole when he was up by just over a tenth to the second sector, but a mistake in the final sector dropped him back to third.
Murray's hopes of a first career pole were dashed by a superb lap by De Pasquale, who set a 1:08.210s, but Payne could not be denied a pole sweep, a 1:08.110s handing the Kiwi his ninth pole of the season.
