2015 Bathurst 1000: Qualifying and top ten shootout live blog, updates

Race Result: David Reynolds and Dean Canto for Bottle O Racing will start tomorrow’s Bathurst 1000 from pole position after taking the top ten shootout at Mount Panorama on Saturday afternoon.

In wet conditions, after rain fell on the circuit during and before the top ten shootout, David Reynolds was able to bank a lap good enough to take his first pole at the mountain.

Despite a slow time of 2:27.8201, which was over 20 seconds behind what they usually do in dry conditions, Reynolds’ time was good enough.

At the start of the session it was wet, after rain fell during the second Carrera Cup race of the weekend, before the top ten shootout.

This made conditions tricky for the first few as James Moffat and Lee Holdsworth started off the session.

Both did times that made sure their car was in one piece for the main race on Sunday.

Reynolds though, who went out third, came out with intent and went two seconds quicker than Holdsworth to move to the top.

Scott McLaughlin and Jason Bright, who went next, had good track conditions compared to the rest but opted to stay safe.

They moved to 2nd and 3rd behind Reynolds and would stay in that position as the rain came down hard again.

For the last five drivers, Scott Pye, Jamie Whincup, Tim Slade, Shane Van Gisbergen, and Fabian Coulthard, they could do nothing to beat the time of Reynolds.

Van Gisbergen tried, as he used his skills in the wet, and got the closest to Reynolds with a 2:30.8456.

The rest though were almost or over 4 seconds behind.

It was a shame the shootout ended that way but Prodrive won’t care one bit.

After a demorolising day yesterday for the team, after the incident to Chaz Mostert, this was the perfect recovery for them.

It was also redemption for Reynolds who got in trouble on Thursday for comments he made about the all-female combination at the mountain.

Now the 25,000 dollar fine has been partly paid for by the $5,000 he won for claiming pole.

Earlier in the day qualifying was also hampered by rain.

With 15 minutes to go rain fell on the track and ended the session as times could not be bettered.

Fabian Coulthard timed his lap perfectly to secure provisional pole with a 2:06.1838.

Others weren’t so lucky though with Mark Winterbottom (14th), Craig Lowndes (15th), Garth Tander (22nd), and Rick Kelly (19th) missing out on the shootout.

With the grid turned on its head, because of both rain interruptions, it could be another great race tomorrow.

Here is the grid:

1) David Reynolds                                     2) Scott McLaughlin

3) Jason Bright                                          4) Lee Holdsworth

5) James Moffat                                         6) Shane Van Gisbergen

7) Scott Pye                                                 8) Jamie Whincup

9) Fabian Coulthard                                 10) Tim Slade

11) Will Davison                                        12) Andre Heimgartner

13) Dale Wood                                            14) Mark Winterbottom

15) Craig Lowndes                                     16) Todd Kelly

17) Jack Perkins                                         18) Michael Caruso

19) Rick Kelly                                             20) David Wall

21) Nick Percat                                          22) Garth Tander

23) Tim Blanchard                                   24) Aaren Russell

25) Simona De Silvestro                         26) Ash Walsh

Race Preview: Saturday at the Bathurst 1000 has become busier for the teams and drivers following the incident to Chaz Mostert during qualifying yesterday. Join The Roar for a live blog of practice 6, qualifying, and the top ten shootout from 10:00am AEDT.

Yesterday was a day no one will for forget in the paddock for a long time.

During what was meant to be qualifying for the Great Race, Chaz Mostert had a serious accident at the top of the mountain.

His car would hit the wall on the left hand side, just after the dipper, and move like a pinball from wall to wall before resting near Forrest’s Elbow.

Mostert suffered a broken leg and wrist and had surgery on it last night in Orange.

His championship, and season, is now over with the incident.

The car, which hasn’t officially been eliminated from the race yet, is also unlikely to compete this weekend.

It also stopped the session yesterday as all racing was cancelled because of track damage.

This creates a headache for V8 Supercars, and the teams today, who now have to complete qualifying before the top ten shootout later in the day.

Now qualifying, after practice 6, will be held at 12:30pm AEDT. An autograph session, which was scheduled for then, is now moved to another spot.

Before the incident, and during the session, there was anticipation of fast times during qualifying.

How the crash impacts on the drivers mind will be interesting.

Yesterday, during practice 5, Jamie Whincup became the quickest driver in a V8 Supercar around the mountain.

He did a 2:04.9097 to become the first person to go under 2:05.

There is potential to go quicker and it may be needed to secure pole. Just how much risk drivers take, after yesterday, will be fascinating.

Pole looks to be fought between five teams; Brad Jones Racing, Red Bull Racing, Prodrive Australia, DJR Team Penske and the Holden Racing Team.

These teams have dominated practice and look set to be among those fighting for pole.

With Prodrive looking to bounce back, after losing one of their cars, I expect Mark Winterbottom and David Reynolds to shine today.

Jamie Whincup (Red Bull), Fabian Coulthard (Brad Jones Racing), and Garth Tander (Holden Racing Team) will be looking to stop them.

The Roar will also cover the Dunlop Series and the 250 kilometre race they have today.

Cameron Waters, who was meant to race with Mostert in Sunday’s race, starts that race as the favourite.

All the action from what promises to be another dramatic day of racing will be here at The Roar.