MOTORSPORT: Bathurst 12 Hour pole-setter will start from P3

The fastest car at Mount Panorama was also too fast and will start the 2019 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour from position three, handing a front-row lockout to Mercedes-AMG.

R-Motorsport Briton Jake Dennis claimed provisional pole position during the Top 10 shootout, lapping in 2min 2.4946sec with an Aston Martin Vantage, but was then penalised for a pitlane speeding incident during the earlier qualifying session and docked two grid positions.

The penalty didn't, however, take away the honour of the Swiss based Aston-squad receiving the Alan Simonsen Trophy for the fastest time.

For the race, Gruppe 3 driver, Italian Raffaele Marciello, who was quickest during Friday practice for the GT3 sports car contest, is now the official polesitter in an AMG GT3 and Maro Engel was lifted to second in his similar car.

Dennis was quickest in qualifying and then repeated the performance in the shootout with a lap that was a full four-tenths faster than his nearest challenger.

“Unbelievable. First time here at Bathurst for us guys and we’ve come away with pole position,” said Dennis.

But then came the penalty.

However, the biggest shock of Bathurst 12 Hour qualifying was the non-performance of the Triple Eight team that were pre-race favourites with a driving roster of Jamie Whincup, Shane van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes in a Mercedes-AMG. The trio was only 19th fastest and struggling for any sort of answers and a plan for the longest race on the Australian professional calendar.

“We were confident coming into qualifying, but the car just wasn't balanced on the new tyres,” said Shane van Gisbergen.

“Everything looks good on the data, but the car just didn't produce the lap time. We've got a little bit to do to figure that out, but it's promising that we were quick on old tyres for the race.

“It's going to be tough starting tomorrow, particularly because it's so early in the morning and still dark. Early to bed tonight and try to rest up. This is the only thing I'll ever get up at 4am for – racing cars."

Former Bathurst 1000 winner David Reynolds was the only Supercars driver to make the 12 Hour shootout, but he slipped from his qualifying pace and will line up fifth in another Mercedes-AMG which he will share with our own Luke Youlden and The Bend developer, Yasser Shanin. The fastest of the booming Bentley Continentals was hustled to fourth by Steven Kane.

The fastest Porsche was piloted by young Aussie factory Porsche driver, Matt Campbell, in seventh position. Like many fancied runners, Campbell's Porsche struggled with tyre temperature during the one-lap shootout format.

The 2019 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour starts at 5:45am tomorrow. Full free to air coverage will be hosted by the Seven Network via 7Mate.

Bathurst 12-Hour Top 10 shootout
1. Jake Dennis, Aston Martin, 2:02.4946
2. Raffaele Marciello, Mercedes-AMG, 2:02.9348
3. Maro Engel, Mercedes-AMG, 2:03.0419
4. Steven Kane, Bentley, 2:03.1083
5. David Reynolds, Mercedes-AMG, 2:03.1735
6. Kelvin van der Linde, Audi R8, 2:03.17.91
7. Matt Campbell, Porsche 911, 2:03.1863
8. Yelmer Buurman, Mercedes-AMG, 2:03.3646
9. Christopher Haase, Audi R8, 2:03.7828
10. Alexandre Imperatori, Nissan GT-R, 2:04.1910