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JOHNSON SMASHES RECORD FOR BATHURST POLE
STEVE JOHNSON has smashed his own Touring Car Masters qualifying record to take an emphatic pole position for round six of the series this morning at Mount Panorama.
In what turned out to be a shortened nine-minute dash for pole Johnson’s fourth flyer saw him post a stunning 2m16.6160s lap to secure his sixth TCM pole position by more than a full second.
The stunning lap was a full 1.5 seconds beneath his own Bathurst qualifying record set two years ago and exactly one second faster than next best Adam Bressington.
The Whiteline Racing Camaro driver was also under Johnson’s existing benchmark though his otherwise impressive 2m17.70s lap placing the title contender in front of John Bowe on the grid.
Bowe was two-tenths further back from the Camaro in third and was also under Johnson’s existing 2m18.16s benchmark however traffic at turn one saw him abandon his final lap and any chance to improve.
Adam Garwood qualified fourth in his Holden Torana his 2m19.26s lap edging out Ryan Hansford’s similar Torana for a spot on the second row of the grid.
Jim Richards qualified sixth in the Shannons Insurance Ford Falcon Sprint while Andrew Fisher will line-up seventh in the Jesus Racing GTHO.
Brad Tilley was clocked at 283km/hr on Conrod straight en route to eighth place on the return of the GTHO while Mark King was a strong ninth in the second entry from Whiteline Racing the HQ Monaro continuing to improve in the capable Queenslander’s hands.
Eddie Abelnica competed the top-10 in the Melbourne’s Cheapest Cars XB Falcon while Tony Karanfilovski (11th) and an impressive Wayne Mercer (12th) qualified just outside the top-10. ÂÂ
The session was red flagged before a majority of the field could set a flying lap when Terry Lawlor put his Lady Luck Racing Mustang into the gravel at McPhillamy Park.
In a wild moment the ’64 Mustang slid sideways past the McPhillamy Park gates but avoided any contact with anything other than the gravel trap at the top of Mount Panorama.
Buried deep in the sand it took some time to recover the car – allowing just seven minutes of green flag running for drivers to complete a lap at the end of the session.
Cameron Tilley qualified the Anglomoil Valliant Pacer in 14th position – a remarkable effort given the car missed both practice sessions yesterday.
The Sydney driver was waiting for a replacement head to arrive from the United States the new component arriving at the team’s Brookvale Sydney workshop at 11pm last night after lengthy delays in Customs while en route.
The team quickly installed the components and loaded the car straight onto the trailer arriving at Bathurst early this morning.
Bruce Williams’ challenging weekend continued in the AC Delco Torana managing a 2m26.3s lap to qualify 17th.
QUALIFYING – ROUND 6 MOUNT PANORAMA
Pos Car Competitor/Team Driver Vehicle Cap CL Laps Fastest...Lap Gap1 17 Synergy Race Engines Steve Johnson (QLD) 1971 Ford Falcon XY 5800 5 4 2:16.6160R 2 95 Whiteline Racing / Fabre Austr Adam Bressington (NSW) Chevrolet Camaro SS 5800c 5 4 2:17.7019r 0:01.08593 18 Wilson Security / PAYCE John Bowe (VIC) Holden Torana SL/R 5047c 5 4 2:17.8764r 0:01.26044 12 Giraffe Civil Contracting Adam Garwood (TAS) Holden Torana A9X 5000c 5 4 2:19.2670 0:02.65105 6 Multispares Racing Ryan Hansford (QLD) Holden Torana SL/R 5000c 5 4 2:19.9996 0:03.38366 2 Shannons Insurance Jim Richards (VIC) Ford Falcon Sprint 5000c 5 5 2:20.1893 0:03.57337 9 Jesus Racing Andrew Fisher (NSW) Ford Falcon XY GT HO 5800c 5 4 2:20.4940 0:03.87808 28 Speedgas / Tilley Auto Garage Brad Tilley (NSW) Ford Falcon XY GT HO 5800c 5 4 2:20.5446 0:03.92869 85 Whiteline Racing / King Spring Mark King (QLD) Holden Monaro GTS C 5800c 5 4 2:21.7810 0:05.165010 48 Melbourne's Cheapest Cars Eddie Abelnica (VIC) Ford Falcon XB Coupe 5800c 5 5 2:22.1865 0:05.570511 88 TIFS - Warehousing & Distribut Tony Karanfilovski (NSW) Ford Mustang Trans A 5800c 5 4 2:22.9468 0:06.330812 74 Lyndways Builders Wayne Mercer (VIC) Ford Falcon XY GTHO 5800c 5 3 2:23.5241 0:06.908113 25 Maxi-Trans Trailers Paul Freestone (VIC) Chevrolet Camaro 5800c 5 5 2:23.9112 0:07.295214 60 Glennan Transport/ANGLOMOIL Lu Cameron Tilley (NSW) Valiant Pacer 4390c 4 4 2:24.1394 0:07.523415 3 Hercules Engines / Lucky's Hot Cameron Mason (NSW) Ford Mustang Fastbac 5000c 5 5 2:24.4392 0:07.823216 4 Skye Sands Rusty French (VIC) Ford Mustang Fastbac 5800c 5 4 2:26.2125 0:09.596517 5 ACDelco Bruce Williams (VIC) Holden Torana SL/R 5000c 5 3 2:26.3363 0:09.720318 97 Johns Furniture Removals Allen Boughen (QLD) Mercury Comet 4736c 5 3 2:27.7450 0:11.129019 72 GFR Industries Geoff Fane (QLD) Chevrolet Camaro SS 5800c 5 4 2:27.7987 0:11.182720 8 Lady Luck Racing Terry Lawlor (NSW) Ford Mustang 5000c 4 3 2:28.1959 0:11.579921 46 THD Motorsport Leo Tobin (VIC) Ford Boss Mustang 5000c 5 5 2:28.5999 0:11.983922 91 Performance 9 / Werks Garage Stan Adler (QLD) Porsche 911 IROC 3600c 4 4 2:37.4642 0:20.848223 7 Wisely Motorsport Bob Wisely (QLD) Holden Torana A9X 5000c 4 4 2:37.9821 0:21.366124 19 Tincone Industrial Services Darren Beale (QLD) Holden Monaro GTS C 5800c 4 4 2:38.2667 0:21.650725 1 Hawk Brake Pads Dave Roberts (USA) Chevrolet Camaro SS 5800c 4 4 2:40.6716 0:24.055626 77 Red Rock Winery / Werks Garage Rohan Little (VIC) Porsche 911 IROC 3600c 4 4 2:41.3082 0:24.692227 11 Vic Roads Custom Plates / Cast Melinda Price (VIC) Ford Falcon XA GT 5800c 3 3 2:46.8793 0:30.2633
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