Less than a minute later, his Australian rival went even faster.
The Southland Velodrome lived up to its reputation as one of the fastest sea-level tracks, with Dawkins breaking his own national record before Australian star Matthew Glaetzer pipped him.
Dawkins clocked 9.907 which was 0.1s under his previous national record and continued his outstanding form this season.
Glaetzer then went a stunning 9.828s in his qualifying, the fastest sea-level time set by an Australian and the first time under the 9.9s barrier.
Ten-time world champion Anna Meares topped the women's qualifiers in 11.011, the fastest time recorded in New Zealand although outside the time she set on the way to the world record and a gold medal at the London Olympics with 10.782s.
- By Dylan Cleaver of the NZ Herald
