Chaz Mostert in the #25 Walkinshaw Andretti United Commodore has set a brand new qualifying record for Supercars at The Mountain to clinch pole for tomorrow’s Bathurst 1000. His time, a 2:03.3736, eclipsed the old marker set by Scott McLauglin back in 2019 by 0.15 of a second.
“That was so much fun!” Mostert said over the radio after completing the lap
Mostert was 8th man out on circuit, and followed impressive laps by Brodie Kostecki in the #99 Erebus Motorsport Commodore (2:03.7733) and Cameron Waters in the #6 Tickford Racing Mustang (2:03.6864) Mostert had to wait for laps from Anton De Pasquale (2:03.6634) in the #11 Dick Johnson Racing Mustang and Will Brown in the #9 Erebus Motorsport Commodore, but neither car could match Mostert’s effort, with De Pasquale completing the front row.
“I don’t even know the words,” Mostert said after the session. “The car was so enjoyable to drive. It’s been awesome all weekend. When I heard the times come down from the other guys I thought wow that’s getting fast, so I just blocked it all out and drove to the grip level and the car was really responsive.
“It was just so much fun.”
Mostert’s lap was incredibly smooth, pushing the track limits the full way around, and even brushing the wall at the exit of Forrest’s Elbow. He set the fastest time in sector 1 and sector 3, with Anton De Pasquale the best over the top of the mountain in sector 2. De Pasquale was only a tenth away from Mostert’s time at the end of sector 2, but a small mistake at the final corner meant the gap was almost 3 tenths at the line.
The second row will be shared by Cameron Waters and Brodie Kostecki, who were both in the 2:03’s. Kostecki was the first to dip into the 3’s in the session, saying over the radio “I couldn’t give a s**t if anyone beats me, that was awesome!” His time beat out his teammate Will Brown, who couldn’t replicate his marker from qualifying, setting a 2:03.9921 to start tomorrow in 5th.
Tim Slade in the #3 Blanchard Racing Team Mustang will start from 6th, with Shane van Gisbergen (#888 Red Bull Triple Eight Race Engineering), Will Davison (#17 Dick Johnson Racing Mustang), Nick Percat (#8 Brad Jones Racing Commodore), and Jack Le Brocq (#5 Tickford Racing Mustang) completing the top 10. Interesting to note that the bottom 4 drivers were almost a second away from the fastest time, with the track cooling significantly as the sun began to set.
The Bathurst 1000 kicks off at 12:15pm AEDT on Sunday, with a 20 minute warm up ahead of the race at 9:10am AEDT. Coverage within Australia will be on Fox Sports 503, Kayo Sports, and Channel 7, while international viewers can watch via Superview, and the Supercars YouTube page.
(UPDATE)
Both Erebus Motorsport Commodores have been disqualified from the Top 10 Shootout after scrutineering checks found that the doors on both the #9 and #99 Commodores were underweight.
This drops Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown from fourth and fifth on the grid, down to ninth and tenth for tomorrow’s race.
Row 2 now sees Tim Slade in the #3 Blanchard Racing Team Mustang start 4th, with Van Gisbergen and Davison from 5th and 6th, and Percat and Le Brocq sharing row 4.
The Erebus Motorsport statement reads as follows;
“Erebus Motorsport is disappointed to hear news that after being reviewed by the Stewards at Bathurst today, they have been disqualified from this afternoon’s Top Ten Shootout.”
“After thorough inspection it was found that although the overall car weights were by the book, doors on both Erebus Holdens were underweight.”
“It is a small oversight and honest mistake by the crew who have worked tirelessly for six weeks to ensure they represented the team, its partners, and their fans well.”
“Erebus Motorsport apologises and look forward to putting their best foot forward in tomorrow’s Great Race.”
“Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown’s Commodores will start from 9th and 10th respectively.”
“The team will be making no further comment.”
