Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup share Albert Park poles

Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup took a pole apiece after the first two qualifying sessions ahead of the second meeting of the Supercars Championship at Albert Park.

DJR Team Penske driver McLaughlin gave Ford a first pole of the year in qualifying for the first race of the Australian Grand Prix meeting, with defending champion Whincup then setting the pace for Triple Eight in session two.

McLaughlin headed a 1-2 for the Shell V-Power Racing team in the first ten minute session with what would prove to be the quickest time of the weekend so far, with a single flying lap on 1:54.6016 proving to be a benchmark that no-one else could get near.

Team-mate Fabian Coulthard was more than three-tenths of a second behind in second place, with Whincup in third being the only other driver to break the 1:55s barrier.

Chaz Mostert, Shane van Gisbergen and David Reynolds rounded out the top six, with the quickest of the Nissan drivers being Andre Heimgartner down in 14th place.

Whincup would emerge on top in the second session however as he clinched his 76th career pole and first of the 2018 season.

Although times were slower than in session one, Whincup again dipped below the 1:55s barrier to take spot in his Red Bull-backed Commodore, with McLaughlin just 0.0882s behind in second place.

Coulthard was again impressive as he took third in the second DJR Penske car, ahead of Cameron Waters, Nick Percat and Michael Caruso – the latter leading a strong second session for the Nissans.

A disastrous day for Craig Lowndes saw him run off track in session one and then encounter traffic in session two that meant he could only qualify 17th and 26th whilst a misfire in the second session also hurt Garth Tander who lines up back in 24th in his Garry Rogers Motorsport-run Commodore.

The third and fourth qualifying sessions of the weekend take place on Friday alongside the opening 25 lap race.