Fabian Coulthard secures pole position for Adelaide Race 3

Fabian Coulthard has taken pole position for Race 3 of the Clipsal 500 at the Adelaide Street Circuit, beating Prodrive Racing Australia’s Chaz Mostert by just under a hundredth of a second in the Top Ten Shootout in his DJR Team Penske Ford Focus.

With the drivers running in reverse top ten order from qualifying, Coulthard had set his time before Mostert, and though Mostert was up on Coulthard in the early part of the lap, it was Coulthard’s last sector which was stronger than the Prodrive Ford driver, which ensured he grabbed pole position.

Last to run was fellow New Zealander Scott McLaughlin, who had set the fastest time in qualifying, but it was the Volvo driver’s second sector that would be his undoing even though he was fastest of all in the tricky sector three. McLaughlin would qualify fourth, behind the Triple Eight Holden of Shane van Gisbergen.

The two winners of this weekend so far would qualify fifth and sixth, with Race 1 winner Jamie Whincup fastest of all in sector one in his Triple Eight Holden, but not carrying the speed through into sectors two and three, while Holden Racing Team’s James Courtney’s lap was aborted after he was judged to have cut the chicane at Turn 1 & 2, which would have seen any time he set disallowed.

Rick Kelly was the only Nissan driver in the Top Ten Shootout, and he would put the Altima sixth on the grid ahead of reigning champion Mark Winterbottom’s Prodrive Ford.

Race 1 pole-sitter and Coulthard’s DJR Team Penske team-mate Scott Pye was eighth quickest, with Cameron Waters in the #6 Prodrive Ford making his first appearance in the top ten in qualifying this weekend with ninth.

The 78-lap race gets underway at 15:20 ACDT (5:50 CET).