10 Jul 2010

Whincup to start in pole position at Townsville

4:45 pm on 10 July 2010

The two-time defending V8 Supercars champion, Jamie Whincup, has claimed pole position for the opening Townsvilel race this afternoon.

Whincup is trailing the series leader James Courtney by 57 points overall, but has made his intentions clear to the Ford driver by claiming the 19th pole of his career ahead of the 200 kilometre event.

Courtney had claimed four wins in as many races on soft sprint tyres to overtake Whincup in the championship race, but missed the podium in the last round in Darwin when racing reverted back to hard compounds.

The race is due to start at 5pm.