De Pasquale leads Gold Coast qualifying as Kostecki misses shootout
Jack Le Brocq finished 17th on Friday as the Supercars finals opened, with three title contenders facing elimination by the end of the weekend.
Anton De Pasquale claimed provisional pole for the Gold Coast 500 opener, recording a lap of one minute, 9.077 seconds. The Team 18 driver beat Broc Feeney and championship leader Matt Payne to secure the last solo run in the top-10 shootout.
Brodie Kostecki, coming off his second Bathurst 1000 win, missed the shootout and will line up 11th. Matt Stone Racing driver Jack Le Brocq finished Friday in 17th place and holds 10th in the championship.
The Gold Coast event begins the finals series. Seven drivers will retain a chance at the title after the weekend, with elimination awaiting the bottom three finalists who do not take a Gold Coast win.
Andre Heimgartner placed fourth in qualifying. Defending champion Chaz Mostert was fifth, Ryan Wood sixth and Will Brown seventh. Thomas Randle, Kai Allen and Cam Waters completed the top 10. Payne had power steering trouble in practice, while Brown went off track during qualifying.
De Pasquale's result followed a lost opportunity at Bathurst, where his car ran out of fuel during the final lap while he was leading. At the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, Saturday's shootout is scheduled for 12.35pm local time, with Race 31 starting at 3.15pm. The race runs for 85 laps over 250km.
