Payne eyes Sprint Cup glory after qualifying joy

Matt Payne has given himself a golden opportunity to win the Supercars Sprint Cup by claiming pole for the opening two races of the Ipswich Super 440.

The Grove Racing star will start in first position for Saturday's first 39-lap, 120km race after securing the fastest lap in one minute 8.010 seconds at Queensland Raceway.

But that wasn't the end of the Kiwi's sparkling morning as he nabbed pole for the following 39-lap race later on Saturday after registering a blistering lap in one minute and 8.358 seconds on used tyres in the second segment of qualifying.

The results mean Payne has secured seven poles this season as he looks to win his fourth race in six outings, which would only strengthen his grip of finishing on top of the Sprint Cup standings and securing a finals berth.

Payne currently leads Triple Eight Race Engineering's Broc Feeney by 118 points going into the final three races at Ipswich.

Elsewhere, after it was discovered Will Brown had been driving his Ford Mustang with a less powerful engine, the 2024 champion transformed in his new car, coming fourth and third respectively in the two sessions.

Dick Johnson Racing's Brodie Kostecki also started strong after a tough Perth Super 440 campaign, finishing second in both of the segments.

Last year's champion Chaz Mostert lit up the course, finishing third in the first qualifying session and fourth in the second, while Grove's Kai Allen secured fifth in the second part of qualifying.

Feeney will start fifth and sixth respectively as he looks to continue his resurgence after a slump in form heading into Perth.

Team 18's Anton De Pasquale had a horror start to the day as he finished 12th in the first section of qualifying, but Walkinshaw TWG's Ryan Wood had a worse morning as he came 13th and 18th in the respective sessions.

Drivers will return for Race 26 at 12.45 pm before the second 120km race begins at 4.15 pm.