BATHURST: Reynolds goes from villain to hero
Qualifying: Fined on Thursday, going fine on Saturday as Ford driver claims pole positionThursday villain David Reynolds has turned Saturday hero for Prodrive Racing Australia, claiming pole position for Sunday’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in a soaking wet top 10 Shootout.
It was a result that came only a day after his team-mate Chaz Mostert crashed violently out of qualifying and broke his left leg and left wrist, and two days after Reynolds was fined $25,000 for making ill-considered comments about the all-female wildcard team of Simona De Silverstro and Renee Gracie.
Mostert had sent a message from Orange Hospital where he underwent surgery on Saturday that his Pepsi-Max team-mate and championship leader Mark Winterbottom should claim pole.
But Winterbottom could manage only 14th place in qualifying after being caught out by a sudden squall of rain that also ended the op 10 chances of V8 Supercars icon Craig Lowndes and Holden Racing Team ace Garth Tander.
“That’s for Chaz,” Reynolds said after completing a neat lap in the best of the poor conditions, making sure to stay off the kerbs and white lines and getting good drive off the corners in the Bottle-O Ford Falcon FG X he will share with Dean Canto on Sunday
“The rain was really coming down a lot, but I knew it was going to be a struggle for the last couple of contenders. I kind of knew in my heart that I had it.
“I suppose it’s just a small win. We’re still here to win the race overall, and that’s the six and a half hour race, it’s not just decided by two and a half minutes.”
“Obviously I want to be on the podium because the race has a much bigger history than qualifying does. This is a great feeling. Anytime you get pole position is a great feeling, and to do it at Bathurst is 10 times better. If we can win we’ll be having a big party. ”
Reynolds rose from eighth fastest to pole, while others to make the best of the conditions were factory Volvo S60 driver Scott McLaughlin who climbed from seventh to second on the grid; veteran Jason Bright gained three positions in his Brad Jones racing Holden Commodore VF to start third; CS Racing Holden driver Lee Holdsworth who climbed from ninth to fourth and factory Nissan Altima driver James Moffat who went from 10th to fifth.
Others caught in heavier rain went backwards. The worst casualty was fastest qualifier Fabian Coulthard, who dropped from first to ninth in his BJR Commodore. Walkinshaw Racing Holden driver Tim Slade dropped from third to 10th; Triple Eight Holden ace Jamie Whincup fell from fourth to eighth; DJR Team Penske young gun Scott Pye slipped two spots from fifth to seventh and Tekno Holden’s spectacular Shane van Gisbergen went from second to sixth.
Amazingly, despite the conditions everyone completed their laps without running off, let alone spinning.
“That was the hardest and most scariest lap of my life,” Mclaughlin said. “We were very lucky there with the rain. We probably got the track at the right time; Dave, Brighty and I.
“The hardest thing was that you didn’t know where to brake, you didn’t know how much road you could use, where it was going to be slippery, especially now with the new surface.”
With more rain forecast on Sunday and the field so mixed up the 1000km Mount Panorama classic shapes as being as upredictable as 2014 when the track broke up, the race was punctuated by 10 pace cars and the win was only decided on the last lap.
2015 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 starting grid:
1 55 The Bottle-O Racing Team David Reynolds/Dean Canto Ford Falcon FG/X 2:27.8201
2 33 Wilson Security Racing GRM Scott McLaughlin/Alex Premat Volvo S60 2:28.9746
3 8 Team BOC Jason Bright/Andrew Jones Holden Commodore VF 2:29.7006
4 18 Walkinshaw Racing Lee Holdsworth/Sebastien Bourdais Holden Commodore VF 2:29.8139
5 99 Nissan Motorsport James Moffat/Taz Douglas Nissan Altima 2:30.0084
6 97 Team Darrell Lea STIX Shane Van Gisbergen/Jonathon Webb Holden Commodore VF 2:30.8456
7 17 DJR Team Penske Scott Pye/Marcos Ambrose Ford Falcon FG/X 2:31.6312
8 1 Red Bull Racing Australia Jamie Whincup/Paul Dumbrell Holden Commodore VF 2:32.0536
9 14 Freightliner Racing Fabian Coulthard/Luke Youlden Holden Commodore VF 2:32.1246
10 47 Supercheap Auto Racing Tim Slade/Tony D’Alberto Holden Commodore VF 2:34.7168
11 9 Erebus Motorsport V8 Will Davison/Alex Davison Mercedes E63 AMG 2:06.9696
12 111 Super Black Racing Andre Heimgartner/Ant Pedersen Ford Falcon FG/X 2:07.0383
13 21 GB Galvanizing Racing Dale Wood/Macauley Jones Holden Commodore VF 2:07.1684
14 5 Pepsi Max Crew Mark Winterbottom/Steve Owen Ford Falcon FG/X 2:07.2072
15 888 Red Bull Racing Australia Craig Lowndes/Steven Richards Holden Commodore VF 2:07.2586
16 7 Nissan Motorsport Todd Kelly/Alex Buncombe Nissan Altima 2:07.3073
17 22 Holden Racing Team Jack Perkins/Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VF 2:07.3769
18 23 Nissan Motorsport Michael Caruso/Dean Fiore Nissan Altima 2:07.3817
19 15 Nissan Motorsport Rick Kelly/David Russell Nissan Altima 2:07.5675
20 34 Wilson Security Racing GRM David Wall/Chris Pither Volvo S60 2:07.9764
21 222 Repair Management Aust Racing Nick Percat/Oliver Gavin Holden Commodore VF 2:08.0596
22 2 Holden Racing Team Garth Tander/Warren Luff Holden Commodore VF 2:08.0756
23 3 Team Cooldrive Tim Blanchard/Karl Reindler Holden Commodore VF 2:08.8787
24 62 Plus Fitness / Go Karts Go Aaren Russell/Drew Russell Holden Commodore VF 2:09.2779
25 200 Harvey Norman Supergirls Simona De Silvestro/Renee Gracie Ford Falcon FG/X 2:09.6484
26 4 Erebus Motorsport V8 Ashley Walsh/Jack Le Brocq Mercedes E63 AMG 2:10.5793
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