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2013 V8 Supercar: Pedersen Qualifying Pace Too Much For The Big Guns At Mike Pero Need For Speed
Ant Pedersen took his second straight BNT V8 SuperTourer pole position at the Mike Pero Need for Speed meeting in Christchurch with a blistering lap at the Powerbuilt Tools Raceway that was too good - just - for V8's men of the moment Shane van Gisbergen and Greg Murphy.
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Clipsal 500 winner Shane van Gisbergen starts second, Daniel Gaunt third, Scott McLaughlin fourth and Greg Murphy fifth. The first 18 cars were covered by a fraction over just one second - promising fans a mouth wateringly close trio of races on Sunday.
Virtually all of the drivers had two runs on new tyres in the twenty minute session, and Pedersen's pole lap was set on his first set of new tyres. For much of the session he sat three tenths ahead of the field with the next dozen or so covered by just four tenths. His 1.23.316 was fully 1.3 seconds faster than Scott McLaughlin's pole position lap recorded the last time the SuperTourers visited Christchurch in November.
"I'm not too sure where we are finding the speed but the car just feels good everywhere," said Pedersen - sporting a new 'Mighty Ant' logo for the first time this weekend on the JA Russell Falcon.
"We were fast last year but we had a few things go wrong. This time around we have all of the basics working well and I'm happy with the way the car is working for me - the balance, the tyres, the braking, it’s all how I like it. That's as much as I can say really, we've always had the pace, it's just that sometimes we've not been able to put it together. Sometimes that has been the car and sometimes that has been me. Right now though, as at Hampton Downs, everything is working well...including the driver!"
Pedersen - who only has one V8ST race win to his credit so far - sounded a word of caution for the race, however.
"At Hampton Downs we didn't have a car that could race well and we need to make sure we have a fast race car otherwise it will all be for nothing. I'm delighted to be starting from the front row though. To be ahead of Shane and Greg feels good. Really good."
Van Gisbergen - revelling in the handling of his car around a track he knows well from his early NZ racing career - was on the pace throughout the qualifying session and on his second set of tyres got to within just four thousandths of a second of the International Motorsport Falcon.
Daniel Gaunt - a front runner and race winner at the circuit in the November 2012 enduro meeting - was again on the pace in the Tasman Motorsport car and lines up third ahead of a resurgent reigning champ Scott McLaughlin, who overcame a minor electrical glitch in the morning's practice session to push his car to the front.
Round One winner Greg Murphy completed the top five, and looked the most consistent having been at the sharp end in both of the practice sessions before qualifying.
Andre Heimgartner put a troubled morning punctuated by a big hit on the barrier at the final turn and a red-flag inducing spin in the first session behind him to line up sixth. Richard Moore continued his good form in seventh place, while Andy Booth and Craig Baird were eighth and ninth, less than half a second off pole. A late push by Simon Evans in the Team 4 car saw him scrape into the top ten, just three hundredths of a second down on Baird.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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