Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes claimed pole positions for V8 Supercars’ season-opening races in Adelaide, as Volvo’s Scott McLaughlin secured a shock front-row start. (Scroll down the page for in-car video.)

Triple Eight duo Whincup and Lowndes dominated the day, with the reigning champion claiming the top spot in the first 15-minute qualifying race ahead of his teammate.

Lowndes, however, fought back in the second heat to beat McLaughlin by 0.1103 second, as the Kiwi secured a front-row slot for Volvo in the new S60’s debut in the series.

“That’s been a lot of hard work,” said GRM boss Garry Rogers, whose team runs the Volvos. “These guys deserve such credit. It’s been an exciting project as well. Polestar in Sweden have done a ripping job with the engines. A lot of credit has to go to a lot of people, but I’m thrilled to bits.”

Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom qualified third for the first race in the quickest Ford, ahead of Holden Racing Team’s James Courtney and McLaughlin.

Whincup, Jason Bright and Winterbottom completed the top five on the race-two grid, ahead of the top Mercedes of Lee Holdsworth.

Todd Kelly and Michael Carusso secured seventh places for race one and race two, respectively, as the fastest qualifiers for Nissan.

The first two races will take place on Saturday, with another qualifying session on Sunday ahead of the final race of the weekend.

rel=”external”>Originally on Autosport.com