Reigning V8 Supercars champion Jamie Whincup has claimed provisional pole position in preliminary qualifying for the Bathurst 1000 endurance event, putting himself in prime position to claim the title of pole position winner for Sunday’s 161-lap race.
Whincup set the overall pace in Friday afternoon’s session, posting a 2:07.7145 lap time in the TeamVodafone Holden Commodore he will share with co-driver Paul Dumbrell.
With the TeamVodafone duo of Jamie Whincup and five-time Bathurst winner Craig Lowndes having set the pace over most of the practice sessions, it was a huge surprise to see Fabian Coulthard post the session’s second-fastest time, missing out on top spot by just under eight-hundredths of a second.
The works-supported Ford Performance Racing duo of Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison were third- and fourth-fastest, while Lowndes completed the top-five.
Also making it through to tomorrow’s Top-10 Shootout were Stone Brothers Racing duo Shane van Gisbergen and Tim Slade, along with Garth Tander, Steve Owen and David Reynolds.
Tander’s performance was particularly impressive. The former champion crashed out at Turn 2 in the session’s opening minutes, triggering a red flag while his car was recovered back to pit lane. His Holden Racing Team pit crew worked miracles to get his car repaired, and he managed to scrape into the Top-10 in a heavily bandaged Commodore.
The grid positions from eleventh down are now locked in, while this session’s ten-quickest drivers will head into a one-lap shootout for pole position late Saturday afternoon.
2012 V8 Supercars Bathurst 1000 – Preliminary Qualifying Result:
Driver | Entry / Team | Result | ||
1. | Jamie Whincup / Paul Dumbrell | ![]() |
Triple 8 Racing | 2:07.7145 |
2. | Fabian Coulthard / David Besnard | ![]() |
Brad Jones Racing | + 0.0786 |
3. | Mark Winterbottom / Steven Richards | ![]() |
Ford Performance Racing | + 0.2086 |
4. | Will Davison / John McIntyre | ![]() |
Ford Performance Racing | + 0.2151 |
5. | Craig Lowndes / Warren Luff | ![]() |
Triple 8 Racing | + 0.2518 |
6. | Shane van Gisbergen / Luke Youlden | ![]() |
Stone Brothers Racing | + 0.3654 |
7. | Tim Slade / Andrew Thompson | ![]() |
Stone Brothers Racing | + 0.3767 |
8. | Garth Tander / Nick Percat | ![]() |
Holden Racing Team | + 0.3900 |
9. | Steve Owen / Paul Morris | ![]() |
Dick Johnson Racing | + 0.4241 |
10. | David Reynolds / Dean Canto | ![]() |
Ford Performance Racing | + 0.5167 |
11. | Jonathon Webb / Scott McLaughlin | ![]() |
Tekno Autosports | + 0.5895 |
12. | Jason Bright / Andrew Jones | ![]() |
Brad Jones Racing | + 0.6426 |
13. | Rick Kelly / David Russell | ![]() |
Kelly Racing | + 0.6780 |
14. | James Courtney / Cameron McConville | ![]() |
Holden Racing Team | + 0.7547 |
15. | Lee Holdsworth / Craig Baird | ![]() |
Stone Brothers Racing | + 0.8234 |
16. | Michael Caruso / Greg Ritter | ![]() |
Garry Rogers Motorsport | + 0.8264 |
17. | James Moffat / Alex Davison | ![]() |
Dick Johnson Racing | + 0.8704 |
18. | Steven Johnson / Allan Simonsen | ![]() |
Dick Johnson Racing | + 0.8866 |
19. | Todd Kelly / Tim Blanchard | ![]() |
Kelly Racing | + 1.1090 |
20. | Michael Patrizi / Jonny Reid | ![]() |
Tekno Autosports | + 1.1095 |
21. | Dean Fiore / Matt Halliday | ![]() |
Dick Johnson Racing | + 1.1108 |
22. | David Wall / Chris Pither | ![]() |
Brad Jones Racing | + 1.1946 |
23. | Greg Murphy / Owen Kelly | ![]() |
Kelly Racing | + 1.2182 |
24. | Tony D’Alberto / Dale Wood | ![]() |
Tony D’Alberto Racing | + 1.2196 |
25. | Russell Ingall / Christian Klien | ![]() |
Walkinshaw Racing | + 1.2677 |
26. | Alexandre Prémat / Jack Perkins | ![]() |
Garry Rogers Motorsport | + 1.4580 |
27. | Taz Douglas / Scott Pye | ![]() |
Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | + 1.5231 |
28. | Karl Reindler / Daniel Gaunt | ![]() |
Kelly Racing | + 1.6622 |
29. | Cameron Waters / Jesse Dixon | ![]() |
Kelly Racing | + 2.7720 |
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Richard Bailey
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