Dontas leads Mitsubishi qualifying one-two

Craig Dontas edged Mitsubishi team-mate Elliot Barbour in ARMOR ALL Qualifying for Round 3 of the 2018 ECB SuperUtes Series in Townsville.

In a one-two for Team Triton, Dontas took his first SuperUtes ARMOR ALL Pole Position, ahead of the Friday practice pacesetter.

Dontas, Barbour and Ryal Harris spent stints at the top through the first half of the 20 minutes, until Dontas turned a 1:35.6700s to go – and stay – 0.2857 seconds clear.

“We flew in a pressure valve from Brisbane overnight, and that fixed our fuel pressure problem for yesterday,” Dontas told Supercars.com.

“Because I missed a lot of practice time yesterday, I was still learning the track during qualifying, so I was really stoked to take pole.

“After all the dramas we’ve had this year, it’s really satisfying to show what we can do, and Elliot did a great job for Team Triton to lock out the front row.”

Harris initially set the pace with a 1:36.7595s, as Barbour and then Dontas picked up the pace.

EFS 4x4 Mazda driver Harris fought back, snatching provisional for several minutes, before Dontas retook the lead.

SuperUtes debutant Barbour shaded Harris by just 0.0121s to join his team-mate on the front row.

“I was struggling with some oversteer off the kerbs, so I couldn’t quite get a rhythm going to challenge Craig, but I’m very pleased with second on the grid," Barbour said.

“When the boys came on the radio and told me Craig had pole and I was second, I was really happy – with all the effort he’s put in, he certainly deserves it.”

Tom Alexander took fourth in the SP Tools Holden Colorado, followed by Aaron Cameron, who spent the bulk of qualifying in the pits battling mechanical problems.

“We missed the start of the session with another turbo hose issue – after that, I was just learning the track and trying to dial myself in," Cameron said.

“We’re not too far away from the pace, so hopefully we can make up some places in the first race.”

Cameron, who suffered turbo issues in Friday’s practice sessions, ventured out late to take fifth in the Bushranger Racing Mazda BT-50.

Ford Ranger driver Christopher Formosa was sixth, while Ben Walsh was seventh in the upgraded Car City Toyota Hilux.

Matthew Mackelden and series leader Craig Woods occupied the next two spots in their Toyotas, followed by Tomas Gasperak.

Race 1 will commence at 1:15pm Saturday, followed by the second and third races of the weekend on Sunday, as part of the Watpac Townsville 400.