Scott Pye has scored his third consecutive top-10 finish this season after crossing the line in sixth for Mobil 1™ Boost Mobile Racing in the first of four Supercars races at the Australian Grand Prix.

James Courtney put a tough qualifying behind him, picking up eight places to finish 12th in the 130km race.

Qualifying issues hampered the two sessions yesterday, resulting in Scott Pye qualifying eighth and 14th for the first two races, and James Courtney 20th and 23rd.

Pye bounced back this morning is resounding fashion, qualifying car No. 2 in third and fifth for the final two races of the weekend, his best qualifying results with the team to date.

JC improved to 11th in the first qualifying session of the day, but his lap in the second session was disallowed due to a kerb hop, meaning he will be out of 25th for the fourth and final race of the weekend.

The race continued the momentum built up in qualifying. It was a 25-lap journey around the Albert Park circuit, with a compulsory stop in the middle.

For most of the first stint, it was business as usual for both cars. Pye held his position in eighth, while JC moved up a couple, to be inside the 20.

A huge shout-out must go to the guys in pit lane. They had the quickest and second quickest stops today, a massive advantage for track position.

Scotty was the first to stop on lap 11, while JC followed him in three laps later. Both successfully undercut a few cars, with Scotty the big winner, up to position six.

JC hunted down Lowdnes and Winterbottom late in the race to climb to 12th, eight spots up from his starting potion, while Scotty managed to hold on to that sixth.

It was a solid day, with promising signs.

Tomorrow, we have two more races, a 13-lapper and another 25-lapper to round out the evening.

Scott Pye

“It was a really positive day today.

“The boys did a great job turning around the qualifying issue overnight, and the car was fantastic this morning.

“It’s nice to get such a strong qualifying result, it proves the car has improved, and puts us in a great position tomorrow.

“The car was easy to drive in the race, and it was good to move forward. Bring on the weekend.

James Courtney

“The race today was good. The guys did a great job in the lane, and we made our way forward a few spots.

“Qualifying this morning didn’t exactly go to plan, the car was definitely better, but not getting a lap in the second session really hurt us.

“We will have some fun tomorrow and pass a few more!”