A blistering lap from Klark Quinn has secured the McLaren 650S GT3 driver provisional pole position for the first of two CAMS Australian GT Championship races at Townsville this weekend.

The former two-time series champion set the pace on an improving circuit, his 1:12.8207 putting the Darrell Lea entry at the top of the table in a field which saw the first eight cars covered by a single second.

The Reid Park circuit clearly suited the McLaren, with Grant Denyer (McLaren Melbourne) in another 650S GT3 second fastest and Elliot Barbour (Beechwood/SLR/Buildmap) recording the fourth fastest time.

In amongst the McLaren trio was Roger Lago, the Queenslader steering his JBS Australia entry to third fastest in the opening qualifying foray.

It was the perfect response from Lago, who became a victim of the unforgiving Red Park circuit last year while racing a Porsche 911 Cup Car.

Three Audi’s featured in the top ten, James Koundouris getting the most out of the Supebarn R8 LMS to qualify fifth before handing the car over to Marcus Marshall for tomorrow’s second qualifying session.

Teams running a two driver combination this weekend will feature their second driver in tomorrow’s session, which will see 2015 Australian GT champion Christopher Mies on track for the first time since Round 2.

Nathan Antunes, winner of Race 2 at Townsville a year ago, will step into the McLaren he shares with Barbour while Craig Baird will climb aboard the race winning STM Mercedes AMG GT3 in place of Scott Taylor.

As the Reid Park circuit continues to evolve, Quinn expects stiff competition in tomorrow’s second qualifying session and predicts times will tumble.

“The track is getting better and better,” Quinn said. “There’s more to come tomorrow, I think pole will be a low 1:12 because the track will be better again in the morning.”

Qualifying 2 gets underway at 9:25am tomorrow (July 9) ahead of the first of two 60-minute races at 11:40am.

The weekend concludes with Race 2, starting at 11:25am on Sunday (July 10).

All sessions will be shown live on Fox Sports, Channel 506.

Qualifying 1 Result

Pos    Team    Driver    Car    Time
1    Darrell Lea    Klark Quinn    McLaren 650S GT3    1:12.8207
2    McLaren Melbourne    Grant Denyer/Jonathon Webb    McLaren 650S GT3    1:13.1534
3    JBS Australia    Roger Lago    Lamborghini R-EX    1:13.1860
4    Beechwood/SLR/Buildmap    Elliot Barbour/Nathan Antunes    McLaren 650S GT3    1:13.4583
5    Supabarn Supermarkets    James Koundouris/Marcus Marshall    Audi R8 LMS    1:13.6109
6    DPO    Nathan Morcom    McLaren 650S GT3    1:13.6141
7    JAMEC PEM Racing    Tony Bates/Christopher Mies    Audi R8 LMS    1:13.6478
8    JAMEC PEM Racing    Steve McLaughlan    Audi R8 LMS    1:13.8216
9    Objective Racing    Tony Walls    McLaren 650S GT3    1:13.9349
10    Modena Engineering    Ricky Capo    BMW Z4 GT3    1:14.0483
11    BMW Team SRM    Max Twigg/Steve Richards    BMW M6 GT3    1:14.2572
12    Hallmarc Developments    Marc Cini    Audi R8 Ultra    1:14.2602
13    Darrell Lea    Tony Quinn    Aston Martin Vantage GT3    1:14.3725
14    Interlloy M Motorsport    Justin McMillan/Glen Wood    Lamborghini R-EX    1:14.4246
15    GT Motorsport    Greg Taylor    Audi R8 LMS    1:14.7394
16    Scott Taylor Motorsport    Scott Taylor/Craig Baird    Mercedes AMG GT3    1:14.8266
17    Bondi Wholefoods    Ash Samadi    Audi R8 LMS    1:14.8904
18    Fastway Couriers    Simon Ellingham/Tim Miles    Audi R8 Ultra    1:15.0014
19    Performance West Motorsport    Peter Rullo    Lamborghini Gallardo    1:15.3602
20    Hogs Breath Café/Griffith Corporation    Mark Griffith/Scott Hookey    Mercedes AMG SLS GT3    1:15.3812
21    Walkinshaw GT3    Neale Muston/John Martin    Porsche 911 GT3-R    1:16.1638
22    AMAC Motorsport    Andrew Macpherson/Brad Sheils    Porsche 997 GT3-R    1:17.1444