Scott Pye put a tough qualifying session behind him to move into the top 10 in race 9 of the championship at Phillip Island.

After starting in 15th, one ahead of teammate James Courtney, Pye was able to pick up five spots in the first two stints to continue his top-10 consistency of 2018.

The 250km race didn’t go quite as well for James Courtney, who couldn’t find the right car balance to move forward, crossing the line in 17th.

After a promising Friday, both Scott and James couldn’t unlock the car as well as hoped in qualifying, meaning they had their work cut out in the race.

Scott was one of the first cars to stop, opting for the undercut, which worked effectively.

A flat spot in the first stint for JC hurt his car speed, and forced a tweak in strategy, pitting a few laps after Scott.

From there, both had relatively uneventful afternoons. Phillip Island, despite how long and wide it is, is notoriously hard to pass, and both drivers found that out the hard way today.

Now, the focus turns to Sunday, which follows the exact same format as today.

Finding the balance and speed which was seen on Friday is a priority overnight.

While it wasn’t the day we were hoping for, there is still plenty to work with. We will be ready to rebound tomorrow morning.

Scott Pye

“It was good to be able to move up today, just a shame we couldn’t pick a few more off at the end.

“We were faster than Will (Davidson), but this track is just so hard to pass with the aero wash, so it was a little frustrating.

“Tonight, we will all be focused on finding that car speed we had Friday, so we qualify higher and can have a crack during the race.”

James Courtney

“We had a few little issues throughout the race today which really hampered us.

“Overall, the balance just wasn’t quite right for us today.

“We’ve got another qualifying session and 250km race tomorrow, which means a chance to move right up the order. We will put our heads down overnight and work hard as a group. I know we can turn it around.”