Could we see another lap record on the mountain when the V8 Supercars take to the Mount Panorama circuit for Qualifying at the Bathurst 1000? Join The Roar to find out the answer to that, and who will make the all-important top ten shootout, from 3:50pm (AEDT).
After the horror of last year’s qualification session, when Chaz Mostert violently hit the wall at the end of the esses and through the dipper breaking a leg and rib, it’s hoped we will have a clean run this time around.
All the wash-up from a dramatic Bathurst:
» Whincup and Holden appeal result
» Match report: Will Davison wins Bathurst 1000
» Complete finishing order – every car, every driver
» Re-live all the action with our live blog
The crash last year damaged a marshalling area, and all track action was suspended for the rest of the afternoon, meaning qualification was then reduced to half an hour on the Saturday.
When qualifying eventually was run it was Fabian Coulthard setting the best lap before David Reynolds took out the shootout.
Yesterday, there were three practice sessions although only two of those saw the lead drivers – or the ones who will qualify their respective cars driving.
In the first of those, ran during the morning Jamie Whincup who holds the lap record which he set during Friday practice last year was blazingly fast clocking a time of 2.05.95, beating the whole field by over half a second.
Fabian Coulthard ended in second and there were only nine cars within a second of Whincup, illustrating exactly how quick his car was.
Whincup was again fast during the third session and came through in the last few minutes to again set the fastest lap, and the fastest ever on a Thursday edging out Coulthard by 0.073 of a second. Chaz Mostert and Scott McLaughlin worked their way into the top ten while Sandown winner Garth Tander did the same.
Craig Lowndes might have been down the order today, but Whincup and Van Gisbergen were relatively fast and on the tenth anniversary of Peter Brock’s death, we should expect nothing less than a top ten finish for Lowndes.
Prediction
Jamie Whincup has been showing excellent pace and will be hard to beat as will Sandown winner Garth Tander. Craig Lowndes always goes well at the mountain, and Fabian Coulthard looked fast in the afternoon session yesterday – at a similar time to when qualifying was run.
Whincup to hold off the pack and race last for the shootout tomorrow.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of qualifying at the Bathurst 1000 from 3:50pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
Damo
Guest
Bit late...but i think the delay was to repair the tyre wall on top of the mountain from the late crash in the dunlop session.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Cheers Jawad! Good luck with the call tomorrow.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Enjoyed the coverage today Scott! It'll be a pleasure to take the reigns from you for the Shootout tomorrow.
Scott Pryde
Expert
FULL RESULTS 1. Jamie Whincup - 2.05.0481 2. Scott McLaughlin - 2.05.1512 3. Tim Slade - 2.05.1861 4. Chaz Mostert - 2.05.2056 5. Fabian Coulthard - 2.05.2283 6. Shane Van Gisbergen - 2.05.2350 7. Mark Winterbottom - 2.05.3394 8. Scott Pye - 2.04.4625 9. Garth Tander - 2.05.5825 10. Michael Caruso - 2.05.5907 11. Jason Bright - 2.05.6666 12. Chris Pither - 2.05.6806 13. Cameron Waters - 2.05.7948 14. David Reynolds - 2.05.8381 15. Lee Holdsworth - 2.05.9417 16. James Courtney - 2.05.9937 17. Will Davidson - 2.05.9941 18. Dale Wood - 2.06.0318 19. Todd Kelly - 2.06.0572 20. Rick Kelly - 2.06.1815 21. Craig Lowndes - 2.06.2289 22. Nick Percat - 2.06.2707 23. James Moffat - 2.06.2778 24. Tim Blanchard - 2.06.4516 25. Andre Heimgartner - 2.07.1142 26. Simona De Silvestro - DSQ (caused red flag) 27. Shae Davies - DSQ (caused red flag)
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
His worst qualifying result at Bathurst it was. Though come Sunday, I'm sure they'll have a faster race car.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Yeah, Lowndes a long way down though.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Just waiting for full results to be published. Thanks for joining me here on The Roar for our live coverage of the 2016 Bathurst 1000 as Jamie Whincup secured the top spot ahead of tomorrow's top ten shootout. Hopefully you enjoyed the coverage. You can join Jawad Yaqub tomorrow from 5:10pm (AEDT) for live coverage of the shootout and i'll be back from 11am (AEDT) on Sunday for the race. I'm off for some NBL action right now though as the New Zealand Breakers take on Melbourne United - that should go live in about 15 minutes. Bye for now.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
The usual suspects up there as expected. Should be an intriguing shootout tomorrow then.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Top 10 shootout qualifiers 1. Jamie Whincup 2. Scott McLaughlin 3. Tim Slade 4. Chaz Mostert 5. Fabian Coulthard 6. Shane Van Gisbergen 7. Mark Winterbottom 8. Scott Pye 9. Garth Tander 10. Michael Caruso Don't forget, they will go off in reverse order tomorrow - only half a second separating the top ten. Full results in a moment.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Jamie Whincup again the fastest for qualifying then after topping all three main driver practice sessions. He is going to be very hard to beat tomorrow and indeed on Sunday.
Scott Pryde
Expert
McLaughlin goes 1 tenth outside and will slot into P2, which pushes Jason Bright out to second.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Coulthard goes up to 4th and Caruso doesn't improve, staying tenth. McLaughlin the last man to complete and he is doing a good time through the first 2 sectors.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Coulthard just 1 tenth of a second outside the time of Whincup at the second sector. Caruso doing well through the first two sectors as well.
Scott Pryde
Expert
McLaughlin makes the start of a final lap with 15 seconds remaining and Caruso has flown through the first sector. CHEQUERED FLAG Last laps now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Whincup, Slade, Mostert, Van Gisbergen, Winterbottom, McLaughlin, Pye, Coulthard, Tander, Caruso 25 seconds remaining.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Under 2 minutes to go and Van Gisbergen goes to third. Mostert 2nd and Slade is flying down Conrod Straight. Lost time over the top of the hill but Slade will go to second! WHat a time. 75 seconds to go.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Tim Slade has just done the best time through the first sector but Whincup goes to the top with 2.05.048. Only just missed cracking into the 4's.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Whincup is flying through the second sector and well up on Mostert. Could be the fastest lap of the weekend if he nails it through Sector 3.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Courtney very slow through the first sector, Whincup does the best time there and McLaughlin into the pits by the sounds of it.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Caruso and Coulthard leaving their run for a flying lap very late as they pull off into the pit lane. 4 minutes to go and both the HRT cars - Courtney and Tander take off now.