David Reynolds holds off Jamie Whincup to win final Sandown 500 qualifying race

David Reynolds won the final qualifying race ahead of the Sandown 500, holding off Jamie Whincup to win by two tenths of a second.

Nissan Motorsport driver Andre Heimgartner started from pole position thanks to his co-driver Aaren Russell’s victory in the first qualifying race.

But Heimgartner made a poor start and dropped down to finish in sixth position.

Instead it was Reynolds who made the best start to claim the lead, heading the field ahead of Scott McLaughlin who is placed second in the championship.

There was one safety car session in the race as Walkinshaw Andretti United driver James Courtney went off track and hit the wall.

As the race resumed, Reynolds once again pulled up a gap over McLaughlin who had his DJR Team Penske team-mate Fabian Coulthard behind him.

Whincup started from eleventh position as his co-driver Paul Dumbrell had a tough first qualifying race, dropping from the lead as rain and hail hit the track. This race was another story for the Triple Eight Race Engineering team as Whincup charged hard up through the field and was up into second place on lap 13, passing McLaughlin.

The Holden driver was right on the tail of Reynolds in the final part of the race but was unable to get past, having to settle for second.

McLaughlin finished third ahead of team-mate Coulthard while Mark Winterbottom crossed the line in fifth position for Tickford Racing.

Championship leader Shane van Gisbergen also made his way up through the field, finishing eleventh from 16th on the grid as his co-driver Earl Bamber had to double stack behind Dumbrell during the first qualifying race.

The main race of 161 laps starts at 13:20 local time tomorrow.