Bathurst 1000 qualifying: Kostecki pole, SVG and Payne in top 10

Brodie Kostecki has gone fastest in this evening’s Bathurst 1000 qualifying session, claiming provisional pole ahead of tomorrow’s Top 10 Shootout. A 2:04.6644 was the fastest of the session, bettering James Golding by 0.1489 seconds.

A late 2:05.1823 was enough for Shane van Gisbergen to jump into the top ten in seventh and leaves him with a chance of claiming the pole. The defending champion relied on his final lap to progress, which was completed after the chequered flag.

Matt Payne continues his strong start to the weekend to also qualify for the Top 10 Shootout in eighth, his best lap coming mid-way through the session.

Anton De Pasquale was the fastest Mustang in qualifying, going third fastest, ahead of Tickford’s Cam Waters, who was the first driver of the Gen3 era to go under the 2:05 barrier, a time that saw him provisionally on top but eventually dropped to fourth.

Shell V-Power has both entries in the top ten, with Will Davison going tenth fastest. Penrite Racing also has David Reynolds joining Payne in the Shootout from sixth.

Broc Feeney’s 2:05.0524 was the fifth-fastest time, resulting in Red Bull Ampol Racing as the only Camaro team with two drivers progressing.

Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert is the other driver to qualify, setting the ninth-fastest time.

New Zealand’s Andre Heimgartner will start Sunday’s Great Race from 13th.

Erebus’s Will Brown was an early victim of the session, locking up into Turn 2 and making hard contact with the tyre barrier. His #9 Camaro was stranded, bringing out an early red flag before any times had been set.

Declan Fraser was the cause of a second red flag not long after the resumption, collecting the outside wall at speed while coming over the top of the mountain, severely damaging the left side of his car and forcing him out of qualifying with no time set.

The additional stoppage worked in favour of Erebus, who was able to repair Brown’s car and return him to the track to set a lap. His best time of 2:05.5581 sees him start 17th.

Scott Pye was another to suffer damage on the mountain, collecting the wall at the session’s mid-point, at the same point where Fraser had, but was able to return to the lane for quick repairs and eventually qualify 12th.

Tomorrow’s Top 10 Shootout begins at 7.05 pm (NZ Time), with a co-driver practice at 12.00 pm and the final practice at 3.00 pm opening the day’s proceedings.