Liam Talbot and John Martin have combined to take pole position in the Mega Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R ahead of tomorrow’s Sydney Motorsport Park 501.
The pair’s combined efforts saw them set a benchmark of 1m29.015s following today’s two qualifying sessions; Talbot topping Qualifying 2 while Martin clocked the fifth best time in his qualifying session.
“We call it Mega Racing for a reason, and the car was Mega today,” said Talbot.
“”It was such a privilege to drive the Porsche today, the Walkinshaw GT3 guys setup an amazing car and John had done a great job in his session.
“We nailed the setup. Nailed the lap. Couldn’t be happier.”
“As Liam said, the car was Mega today,” added Martin.
“We are very happy to have put the Porsche on pole position, it’s a cool feeling.
“Now we’re just looking forward to the race, and can’t wait to get out on track.”
The qualifying format averages times from Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2, giving both drivers equal input into their final grid position.
It resulted in four different manufacturers in the top four grid places, with less than a second covering the top six.
Joining the Mega Racing Porsche on the front row will be Geoff Emery and Kelvin van der Linde in the Valvoline Jamec Pem Audi, who combined to record a 1m29.582s lap.
Van der Linde had recorded the fastest time in the opening Qualifying session, a mere 0.04s quicker than Dominic Storey in the Autex Eggleston Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3.
There was even less between the two on tomorrow’s starting grid, the Audi duo sealing a front row berth by just 0.01s over the Mercedes.
Completing the second row is the YNA Autosport McLaren of Fraser Ross and Warren Luff, who were also within just 0.1s of second place.
Championship leaders Tim Miles and Jaxon Evans will start from eighth in the second Valvoline Jamec Pem entry while the leading Lamborghini was that of Roger Lago and David Russell in the JBS Australia entry.
A blustery wind wreaked havoc as teams battled a strong head wind into the first turn which immediately turned into a cross wind as drivers braked into the Turn 2 hairpin.
The wind is set to remain for tomorrow’s race, adding another variable into what is set to be the longest Australian GT race on record.
The race is set to get underway at 07:35 tomorrow morning with teams set to tackle 129-laps of the Sydney Motorsport Park circuit.
Full coverage of the race is available on Fox Sports, channel 506.
Starting Grid: Sydney Motorsport Park 501
Pos Competitor/Team Driver Q1 Q2 Grid
1 Mega Racing Liam Talbot/John Martin 1:29.008 1:29.021 1:29.015
2 Valvoline Jamec Pem Racing Geoff Emery/Kelvin van der Linde 1:28.447 1:30.716 1:29.582
3 Autex Eggleston Motorsport Peter Hackett/Dominic Storey 1:28.494 1:30.696 1:29.595
4 YNA Autosport Fraser Ross/Warren Luff 1:29.342 1:30.004 1:29.673
5 WM Waste Management Max Twigg/Tony D’Alberto 1:28.847 1:30.622 1:29.735
6 Kentucky Fried Chicken Daniel Gaunt/Dylan O’Keeffe 1:29.990 1:29.640 1:29.815
7 Scott Taylor Motorsport Scott Taylor/Craig Baird 1:29.301 1:31.432 1:30.367
8 Valvoline Jamec Pem Racing Tim Miles/Jaxon Evans 1:28.797 1:31.939 1:30.368
9 JBS Australia Roger Lago/David Russell 1:29.286 1:31.484 1:30.385
10 BMW Team SRM Steve Richards/James Bergmuller 1:29.159 1:32.705 1:30.932
11 Timken Zagame Autosport Adrian Deitz/Cameron McConville 1:29.608 1:32.593 1:31.100
12 Maranello Motorsport Peter Edwards/Greame Smyth 1:29.966 1:32.834 1:31.400
13 Hogs Breath Café/Griffith Corporation Mark Griffith/Dominik Baumann 1:29.397 1:33.527 1:31.462
14 AMAC Motorsport Andrew Macpherson/Brad Shiels 1:29.543 1:33.947 1:31.745
15 GT Motorsports Greg Taylor/Grant Denyer 1:31.214 1:32.955 1:32.085
16 Darrell Lea Tony Quinn/Jonny Reid 1:30.258 1:35.140 1:32.699
17 Trofeo Motorsport Jim Manolios/Ryan Millier 1:31.864 1:39.421 1:35.643
