[VIDEO] Bathurst 1000 – Top Ten Shootout; live blog, highlights and commentary

Who will secure Pole Position for the Bathurst 1000 in the top ten shootout? Join The Roar for a live blog of the Top Ten Shootout and Practice 6 from Mount Panorama at 10:20am AEDT.

It looks to be one of the most open shootouts in recent memory with plenty of combinations in contention for pole position.

Two Fords, six Holdens, one Volvo and one Nissan will contest the shootout today.

It is the first time four manufacturers have competed in the top ten shootout since 1992 when Dick Johnson took pole in his Ford Sierra.

It is Nissan’s first shootout since that year when they won the Bathurst 1000 for the last time.

For Volvo it is their first top ten shootout since 1998, when Rickard Rydell won pole position in the Super Tourer race at the Mountain.

For Scott McLaughlin, who will drive for Volvo in the shootout today, he will be just the fourth driver in the history of the Bathurst 1000 to contest a lap with the Swedish manufacturer.

The bookies favourite for pole position today is Mark Winterbottom and Steve Owen.

Winterbottom has been one of the form drivers of the top ten shootout in recent times.

He has won two Pole Positions for the great race, in 2007 and 2010, and was on the front row for last year’s race.

With the Ford driver holding the lap record after the final practice session yesterday, with a 2:05.9, he will be around the mark this afternoon.

If one driver can put the ultimate lap together, it is him.

Looking to stop Winterbottom will be the only team with all of their drivers in the shootout.

Brad Jones Racing had a day out yesterday with all three drivers in the top ten after qualifying. What makes the feat even better is that those three were in the top six as well.

Fabian Coulthard (1st), Jason Bright (6th) and Dale Wood (3rd) all impressed for the Albury outfit yesterday. With the pace of the BJR cars, pole position is not out of the question.

The biggest surprise out of the three though was Dale Wood who has struggled all year after making the move from the Dunlop Series to the main game.

Yesterday was his day in the sun as he shocked the field with a 2:06.23 to take third position.

I can’t see him taking pole position for the race but a nice top seven spot would be a fantastic achievement for the 2013 Dunlop Series champion.

As for Coulthard, and Bright, one of them could take pole position. For Bright, he has come close to pole, claiming second in the shootout in 2004 and 2006.

In 2004, he was less than a tenth away from pole, which was taken by Steven Richards. Bright just couldn’t get the perfect lap yesterday in qualifying. He has the pace to take the session; can he take his first pole? He is my pick for the shootout this afternoon.

Fabian Coulthard will also be looking for his first pole position and will start today’s shootout as the last remaining car in the session.

This is Coulthard’s third top ten shootout after he qualified fifth in 2012 and ninth in 2007.

With the Kiwi holding the fastest lap around Bathurst, and the privilege of knowing what time he needs for pole, he could be hard to beat today.

Fellow Kiwis Shane Van Gisbergen, and Scott McLaughlin, will also be keen on taking pole position for New Zealand.
Both are fast, and have shown pace over the weekend. Can they put together the perfect lap to take pole?

Finally, can Garth Tander and Craig Lowndes use their experience to steal pole position for the race? Both drivers have taken pole position twice in their career and both have vast experience in the shootout.

Both can’t be ruled out when it comes to the top ten shootout.

It promises to be a big session that could provide a shock or two.

It could also provide a new lap record and a successor to that lap of the gods in 2003.

Before the top ten shootout though, teams will complete another practice session in the morning.

For teams outside of the shootout, it is all about race pace, and making the car good on a long stint.

For those inside the shootout, it is all about speed and race pace, and getting a good combination of the two.

Having good race pace, and speed, is vital for getting a good grid spot and being among the leaders in the race.

There is also plenty of support category action with the Dunlop Series having their 250 kilometre endurance race this afternoon.

Paul Dumbrell will start from pole position for that race and it will be live blogged right here at the Roar.

It should be a cracking race among the next generation of V8 Supercar drivers.
There are also races in the V8 Utes, the Porsche Carrera Cup, the Touring Car Masters and the Aussie Racing Cars.

It is shaping up to be a big day of racing as the grid is completed for the Bathurst 1000.