DAVID RUSSELL SECURES FIRST CARRERA CUP POLE

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David Russell (Boom Logistics) has claimed his first ever Carrera Cup pole position with a blistering qualifying session at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 today.

The Brisbane speedster posted a scintillating time of 2:10.5550 across Mount Panorama to be nearly three-tenths of a second ahead of Dean Fiore (Complispace/Advance Energy), who posted a time of 2:10.8366, in second.

Fiore, who lies second in the Championship, pipped Championship leader Craig Baird (ACER/Leading Solutions) by 0.16 seconds for the final spot on the front row and he will need to win tomorrow's first race of the weekend if he is to have any chance of overhauling Baird at the head of the table.

David Wall (Shannons Insurance) raced into fourth with a time of 2:11.4971, while Bryce Washington (ADRAD Radiators) was fifth with 2:11.6201.

James Koundouris (Supabarn Supermarkets) in 11th overall was the highest of the Pilatus Challenge drivers, which is a championship-within-a-championship for non-professional drivers over the age of 30.

Max Twigg (Trueloc) was just behind Koundouris in 12th, while Peter Hill (Boost/Globe) was 13th.

Even though he finished well it could be the end of the weekend for Hill, who is second in the Pilatus Challenge, after he hit the wall between turns six and seven late in the session.

While unhurt himself his car suffered major damage and his Greg Murphy Racing team will be working through the night in an attempt to get the car on the grid for Race One on Friday afternoon.

‘I ran wide out of turn five, clipped the wall which turned me around and slammed backwards into the concrete,’ he said.

‘It was a pretty solid impact because I was travelling at a fairly high speed and I'm a bit mad at myself for making that mistake. But if it can be fixed the boys will be able to do it and hopefully I'll be on the grid tomorrow.’

Hill's crash put a halt to the session with six minutes remaining but Russell ensured he wasn't caught out by the delay.

‘Everyone came in with that stoppage and put new tyres on, but I had put mine on a couple of laps earlier so I just had to make sure I wasn't caught behind any traffic when we went out because I only had two laps to make the most of them,’ he said.

‘That last lap I thought was reasonably fast. I pushed really hard across the top of the mountain but it never felt out of control.

‘I'm very happy to get my first pole position in Carrera Cup and it's a great start to the weekend.’

Fiore was also happy to be on the front row, which he nabbed on his last lap only milliseconds after Baird has set the second fastest time.

‘Because of the crash being late in the session I thought it might have been called early which would have left me on pole,’ he said.

‘But it wasn't and it gave the other guys a chance to knock me off, which they did. But I was pushing really hard and had a few close moments across the top of the mountain. But that's what you've got to do to be fast up here.’
Rodney Jane (Bob Jane T-Marts) was another driver to come to grief, spinning his car on the last corner of the last lap.

‘I was just trying too hard and got some understeer and the backend kicked around,’ he said.

‘It's a shame because I think I would have dropped my time by about half a second.’

Carrera Cup continues tomorrow, with Race One held late in the afternoon.

Race Two will be held on Saturday and broadcast on Network Seven from 1.15pm (AEDT), while the third and final race will be held on Sunday morning and broadcast live around Australia at 8.40am (AEDT). Check local guides.