Waters leads way for pole at Bathurst 1000
Fraser Barton |
Cameron Waters is on provisional pole for the Bathurst 1000 with a top-10 shootout to come after battling wet and wild conditions in the first qualifying session.
Waters mastered Mount Panorama with qualifying times quickening throughout the session as heavy rain momentarily held off.
He, Shane van Gisbergen and Chaz Mostert traded top spot throughout the 28-car qualifying before the Monster Energy driver registered a quickest time of 2:23.616.
“It was a lot better than what practice was,” Waters said of the track conditions.
“It got faster to a point then the rivers kind of got worse.
“Tomorrow if it is wet, it’ll be a bit more challenging, but I’ll be the last car and get to see how the other guys are going and what the track grip is like.
“But it’s awesome to make it and be quickest in that session.”
Last year’s champion Mostert secured third as retiring Lee Holdsworth rocketed up to second place in the final moments.
Holdsworth pipped his winning teammate from 2021 and was one of two surprises in the top 10 with New Zealander Richie Stanaway fifth.
The 39-year-old said he would cherish every second of his solo moment on the track when the shootout begins.
“It’s really cool to be here in my final year as a main driver and get into the shootout,” Holdsworth said.
“I’m going to lap it up and enjoy every moment of having the whole track to myself for one lap and put it all on the line.
“It’ll be a memory that I take with me forever.”
Friday’s real shock came from Red Bull Ampol Racing who opted for co-driver and seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup over his teammate Broc Feeney for qualifying.
Whincup showed greater poise and balance in the previously saturated practice session and was the only co-driver to participate in qualifying.
But that form failed to carry over when it mattered most.
His session began well with Whincup on par with rival drivers, but as it progressed he dropped off the pace and missed the top ten altogether.
The news got worse for Red Bull Ampol after van Gisbergen was assessed with a three grid spot penalty for bumping Macauley Jones in the final stages of qualifying.
That penalty will apply to car 97, shared by van Gisbergen and Garth Tander, after Saturday’s shootout.
Shell V-Power’s Will Davison scored a ticket to the shootout, while Erebus Motorsport have all three of their cars involved with Stanaway, Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki making the top 10.
Two practice sessions precede the 5.05pm AEDT shootout, which will sort the final grid for Sunday’s great race.
BATHURST 1000 QUALIFYING RESULTS:
1. Cameron Waters 2:23.616
2. Lee Holdsworth +0.212
3. Chaz Mostert +0.219
4. Shane van Gisbergen +0.449
5. Richie Stanaway +0.735
6. Will Davison +0.805
7. Nick Percat +0.946
8. James Courtney +1.028
9. Brodie Kostecki +1.172
10. Will Brown + 1.383.
AAP
