R11 SHOOTOUT - Shootout specialist Tander claims pole
9/9/2000 18:10 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) - Garth Tander is fast becoming a shootout specialist after he again handled the pressure of the one-lap flier better than anyone else – taking pole position for himself and co-driver Jason Bargwanna for tomorrow’s OzEmail 500 at Queensland Raceway.
Tander won his third qualifying shootout title this year with a 1:10.38 minute lap around the fast, 3.1km horseshoe-like Queensland Raceway layout.
"I like these shootouts and I would like to move that they be instated in every round next year," Tander said.
With Bargwanna proving he was just as quick as his team-mate in earlier qualifying sessions, the height-mismatched Valvoline-Cummins pair appear in great shape for tomorrow’s race.
"There was only about a thousandth of a second between our times in morning practice and the car is just a jet so let's hope the race goes our way," Bargwanna said.
With the advantage of setting his time last, Russell Ingall failed to beat Tander’s flier, but did enough to put his and Perkins’ endurance-bred Commodore on the front row.
"I'm very happy,” Ingall said. “Obviously I would have liked pole for a chest beating exercise, but second is fine by me.”
Perkins was quick to put the qualifying performance in perspective. "Teamwork and good preparation seems to do the trick. This is the first meeting for this new car and it is running very well."
Rookie V8 Supercar sensation, David Besnard, displayed a degree of composure and maturity far beyond his years in setting the third quickest time.
"I was a bit tense, being my first shootout, and I missed a gear on the way around so I guess it could have been even better," Besnard said.
Nonetheless, Besnard’s enormously-experienced co-driver Tony Longhurst was pleased with his co-driver’s efforts, but focussed more on tomorrow’s race.
"David has done a great job, but we have four hours of racing tomorrow and I know that Larry and Russell won here last year but I can’t remember who qualified on the front two rows," Longhurst said.
Paul Radisich ensured the second row would be an all-Queensland affair, after “the Rat” clocked the fourth fastest time in the Shell Helix Falcon he will share with local Cameron McLean.
"Fourth is a great place for us to start from, but it is a long race," Radisich said. "Most of our efforts have gone towards making the car as easy to drive tomorrow as we can so hopefully it will go well for us in the race."
McLean said he was enjoying his time in the Shell Helix Level 1 outfit. "It's a real pleasure to drive this car which is at a higher level than mine. I have been working on getting used to the increased levels of grip and responsiveness to make sure I do my bit well in the race.”
Factory Holden men Mark Skaife and Craig Lowndes improved their grid position slightly in the shootout, and will start tomorrow’s race from fifth.
CAT pair John Bowe and Jim Richards will share the third row with the Factory Commodore, while the Mitre 10 Falcon will start alongside Murphy and Richards' K-Mart Holden on the fourth row of the grid.
FTR’s Glenn Seton (sharing the car with Neil Crompton) failed to make an impression in the first few rows after his hot lap.
The four-hour, 500km OzEmail-backed marathon gets the green light at midday Queensland time tomorrow. Armchair fans can tune into the Ten Network’s coverage live from 12pm.
**TOP TEN SHOOTOUT**
1st TANDER/BARGWANNA (Team Valvoline-Cummins) - VT Commodore [1:10.3858min]
2nd PERKINS/INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VT Commodore [1:10.4503]
3rd LONGHURST/BESNARD (Caltex Havoline Racing) - AU Falcon [1:10.5292]
4th RADISICH/McLEAN (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon [1:10.6578]
5th LOWNDES/SKAIFE (Mobil-Holden Racing) - VT Commodore [1:10.7237]
6th BOWE/RICHARDS (CAT Racing) - AU Falcon [1:10.8209]
7th LARKHAM/BRABHAM (Mitre 10 Racing) - AU Falcon [1:10.8225]
8th MURPHY/RICHARDS (K-Mart Racing) - VT Commodore [1:11.1283]
9th SETON/CROMPTON (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon [1:11.7440]
10th WEEL/CRICK (K & J Thermal Products Racing) - AU Falcon [1:11.8959]
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