Melbourne V8 Supercars: Fabian Coulthard takes pole
Coulthard put himself clear of the pack with a 1m55.6682s lap, 0.3491 seconds ahead of Bright. The latter will fall to fourth on the grid, though, due to a penalty for failing to go directly to the pits after first practice.
Adelaide race two winner Shane van Gisbergen jumped from the foot of the top 10 to third in his Tekno Holden in the closing moments.
Triple 8 duo Craig Lowndes and champion Jamie Whincup complete an all-Holden top five, with David Reynolds the top Ford driver in sixth.
Ford Performance Racing's lead drivers Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom share row five.
Highest qualifier for the new manufacturers was Nissan man Michael Caruso in 12th.
But the Erebus Mercedes program was buoyed by Tim Slade putting his Rosenberg-entered car 14th on the grid, a major step forward over Adelaide.
Results
| Pos | Driver | Team/Car | Time | Behind |
| 1. | Fabian Coulthard | Brad Jones Holden | 1m55.6682s | +0.0000s |
| 2. | Jason Bright | Brad Jones Holden | 1m56.0173s | +0.3491s |
| 3. | Shane van Gisbergen | Tekno Holden | 1m56.0444s | +0.3762s |
| 4. | Craig Lowndes | Triple 8 Holden | 1m56.2054s | +0.5372s |
| 5. | Jamie Whincup | Triple 8 Holden | 1m56.4227s | +0.7545s |
| 6. | David Reynolds | Rod Nash/FPR | 1m56.6233s | +0.9551s |
| 7. | Jonothan Webb | Tekno Holden | 1m56.7129s | +1.0447s |
| 8. | Scott McLaughlin | GRM Holden | 1m56.7223s | +1.0541s |
| 9. | Will Davison | FPR Ford | 1m56.8193s | +1.1511s |
| 10. | Mark Winterbottom | FPR Ford | 1m56.8625s | +1.1943s |
| 11. | Russell Ingall | Walkinshaw/HRT Holden | 1m57.2019s | +1.5337s |
| 12. | Michael Caruso | Nissan | 1m57.2178s | +1.5496s |
| 13. | Todd Kelly | Nissan | 1m57.2748s | +1.6066s |
| 14. | Tim Slade | Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes | 1m57.3251s | +1.6569s |
| 15. | Garth Tander | HRT Holden | 1m57.3650s | +1.6968s |
| 16. | Tony D'Alberto | D'Alberto Holden | 1m57.4147s | +1.7465s |
| 17. | Scott Pye | Dumbrell Holden | 1m57.4172s | +1.7490s |
| 18. | David Wall | Britek/BJR Holden | 1m57.4390s | +1.7708s |
| 19. | James Courtney | HRT Holden | 1m57.4600s | +1.7918s |
| 20. | Rick Kelly | Nissan | 1m57.4779s | +1.8097s |
| 21. | James Moffat | Nissan | 1m57.4882s | +1.8200s |
| 22. | Alex Davison | Schwerkolt/FPR Ford | 1m57.5041s | +1.8359s |
| 23. | Alexandre Premat | GRM Holden | 1m57.5220s | +1.8538s |
| 24. | Lee Holdsworth | Erebus Mercedes | 1m57.6629s | +1.9947s |
| 25. | Jonny Reid | DJR Ford | 1m57.8355s | +2.1673s |
| 26. | Dean Fiore | Dumbrell Holden | 1m58.0042s | +2.3360s |
| 27. | Tim Blanchard | DJR Ford | 1m58.2013s | +2.5331s |
| 28. | Maro Engel | Erebus Mercedes | 1m58.9306s | +3.2624s |