The clouds quickly moved in for a complete cover, although the temperatures remained warm.
The top three drivers bested Holdsworth record.
STEVE OWEN/No.49 V.I.P Petfoods Holden with BORIS SAID of California at 1:11.7909. JAMIE WHINCUP/No.88 TeamVodafone Holden-SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS of France-8651.
ALEX DAVISON/No.4 Irwin Racing Ford-MARC LIEB of Germany; and Holdsworth – former record holder in No.33 Fujitsu Racing GRM Holden-SIMON PAGENAUD of France, rounded out the top five.
Four of the top five were Holdens.
The session went well for the first fifteen minutes, and then a few spritzes drove the field into the garage for wait-see. The majority of them stayed in, while a few braved it ten minutes later, in hopes of improving times.
As would be expected, all the Qualifying drivers were the V8 regulars.
Now, the field is not yet set.
Positions Eleven through twenty-eight are locked in.
The top ten drivers participate in the Top Ten Shootout. They start all over, wiping out their just-set times, and get one more chance to do well. One by one, in order of P10 back to P1, they each get one lap.
That sets the field.
Sunday, there is another round of the V8 Supercars, and they have another qualifying session for that, minus the Top Ten Shootout.
Each race is a separate round in the points chase.
The 2011 V8 Supercars Championship point standings after Race 20 of 28
1. Craig Lowndes 2329
2. Jamie Whincup 2229
3. Shane Van Gisbergen 1895
4. Garth Tander 1848
5. Mark Winterbottom 1687
6. Will Davison 1646
7. Rick Kelly 1638
8. Jason Bright 1502
9. Alex Davison 1448
10. Steven Johnson 1411