Garth Rainsbury and Ben Porter have claimed pole position ahead of the inaugural round of the CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series presented by Pirelli.

The Melbourne Performance Centre prepared Dodge Viper claimed top spot by just two hundredths of a second over fellow Trophy Class competitors Greg Taylor and Barton Mawer in the Adina Apartment Hotels Audi R8 LMS.

The Taylor/Mawer pairing had topped the timesheets throughout the session, narrowly heading the Rainsbury/Porter entry until just two minutes from the end of the session.

“The big Viper’s a bit of a weapon,” explained Porter. “It was starting to get a bit loose and wild but it held it all together and the results are on the board.

“It’s the first round of the series so pole is great – not by a great deal but it should make for an interesting race!”

Topping the Challenge class was Australian GT debutante Scott Hookey, who set a time of 1:14.2101 in his Exotic Track Days Ferrari 458 Challenge.

“It’s fantastic,” enthused Hookey. “It’s my first time at the track and only the second it me in the car.

“We’re going to try and make our way through the field as far as we can.”

The competitive MARC Cars class featured a tense battle between Jake Camilleri in the MARC V8 and the Morgan Haber/Jimmy Vernon in the sister car.

Haber was one of only three drivers to dip below the 1:12 marker, his 1:11.9381 just three hundredths faster than stable-mate Camilleri.

“We didn’t know how we were going to go,” Haber admitted. “I’m hoping to go a bit quicker!

“It was fairy on the limit, but it’s great the MARC Cars have a home now with the Trophy Series.”

The fiercely competitive qualifying session set the field for the first of two 50-minute races which will make the first round of the 2016 CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series presented by Pirelli.

Race 1 is set for 12:10 followed by Race 2 at 16:55, with both set to be streamed live online via the Shannons Nationals and Australian GT websites.

Round 1 Results

P    Class    Driver(s)    Team    Car    Time
1    Trophy    Garth Rainsbury/Ben Porter    Melbourne Performance Centre    Dodge Viper    1:11.0354
2    Trophy    Greg Taylor/Barton Mawer    Adina Apartment Hotels    Audi R8 LMS    1:11.0576
3    MARC    Morgan Haber/Jimmy Vernon    MARC Cars Australia    MARC V8    1:11.9735
4    MARC    Jake Camilleri    MARC Cars Australia    MARC V8    1:12.0085
5    Trophy    Jan Jinadasa    JJA Consulting Group    Lamborghini LP-560 GT3    1:12.0550
6    Trophy    Matthew Turnbull    Fire Rating Solutions    Lamborghini LP-560 GT3    1:12.3641
7    Trophy    Rob Smith    Southern Star Developments    Audi R8 LMS    1:12.9843
8    Trophy    Jed Wallis/Adam Wallis    Warrin Mining Volvo CE    Porsche 997 GT3 Cup    1:13.4475
9    Challenge    Scott Hookey    Exotic Track Days    Ferrari 458 Challenge    1:14.2101
10    MARC    Michael Brenton    MARC Cars Australia    MARC V8    1:14.2324
11    Trophy    Francis Placentino    Tusk Windsor    Lamborghini Gallardo    1:16.1215
12    MARC    Geoff Taunton    MARC Cars Australia    MARC V8    1:16.1841
13    Challenge    Jim Manolis/Ryan Millier    Trofeo Motorsport    Maserati Trofeo    1:16.5293
14    MARC    Tony Alford    MARC Cars Australia    MARC V8    1:17.0872
15    Challenge    Brendan Cook    KPH Racing / OLOF Family Cosmetics    Porsche GT3 Cup    1:17.1888
16    Trophy    Con Whitlock    Whitlock Bull Bars    Audi R8 LMS    1:19.8613