Taylor storms to second pole of 2016

A stunning lap from Greg Taylor has seen the GT Motorsport driver claim his second pole position of the season.

Taylor will start the first of two CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series presented by Pirelli races from top spot after a setting blistering time of 1:30.6528.

He’ll be joined on the front row by Mathew Turnbull’s Fire Rating Solutions entry, the Lamborghini driver improving on his best effort from practice by two seconds.

Having shown strong promise at the opening two rounds of the season, Turnbull is now looking to convert his front row starting spot into a strong result in the first of tomorrow’s two 50-minute races.

On the second row and third in Trophy Class was series debutante Stephen Grove, who lapped 2.5 seconds under his previous best around Sydney Motorsport Park in his 2011-spec Porsche GT3 Cup Car.

His time was just half a second off that set by Turnbull and promises to deliver an enthralling battle at the front of the Trophy Class race.

Jack Smith qualified a sensational third overall, and the fastest MARC Class entry, heading stable-mate Jake Camilleri by six tenths of a second.

Smith found an impressive 1.3 seconds between practice and qualifying as he set a best of 1:32.0048, throwing down the gauntlet at MARC Class points leader Camilleri heading into tomorrow's races.

Two-time Bathurst 1000 champion Tony Longhurst made his racing return, and his MARC Cars Australia debut, combining with Morgan Haber to set the third fastest time in class to qualify seventh overall.

Claiming pole in Challenge Class, Richard Gartner and Adrian Flack made the most of conditions and their local knowledge to full affect.

Scott Hookey in the Exotic Days Ferrari 458 Challenge qualified second in class with the Brendan Cook and Ockert Fourie Porsche GT3 Cup Car taking out third.

Qualifying sixth outright, Rob Smith will start alongside Camilleri on the third row, directly ahead of the MARC Cars Australia duo of Ryan McLeod and Keith Kassulke.

Rick Mensa, Trophy Class race winner in the last time out at Winton, got his CCC Polished Concrete Audi R8 LMS inside the top ten with a solid ninth place.

Two 50-minute races, including compulsory pit stops, await teams on Sunday, with Race 1 set to start at 11:00 and Race 2 at 14:00.

Both races will be shown live online via a stream available on the Australian GT website.

Qualifying Results