MOTORSPORT: Whincup leads the way

Jamie Whincup continued his ominous Thursday practice form into Friday qualifying at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, claiming provisional pole ahead of this afternoon’s Top 10 Shootout in the Red Bull Holden VF Commodore he will share with Paul Dumbrell.

Toward the other end of the grid, Thursday form proved just as accurate for his Triple Eight teammate and defending race winner Craig Lowndes, who will start from 21st on the grid in the TeamVortex Holden he will share with Steven Richards.

It is Lowndes’ worst ever starting position in the Great Race, coming on the 20th anniversary of his first win and 10 years on from the death of his legendary mentor Peter Brock.

Lowndes will have some celebrity company with him at the back of the grid, with Harvey Norman Supergirls Simona de Silvestro and Renee Gracie starting second last because the Swiss driver ran off in qualifying, bogged in a sand trap and was excluded from the session for bringing out the red flag.

"We'll obviously now focus on making the car a good race car,” six-time Bathurst winner Lowndes said. “We're not in the Top 10 Shootout, so we'll make sure we have a good race car for Sunday.

“It is disappointing. I think that we've had a pretty tough run into the weekend and it just shows that you've got to be on your game around here and the competition is really tight.

“We made an adjustment in the last run, which improved the car, but not as much as we needed to be in the top 10. It's disappointing starting 21st, so we'll try to stay out of trouble on Sunday and see where we end up."

Last year Lowndes and Richards won the race from 15th on the grid and the Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander and Warren Luff started from 21st and finished third, so fighting back through the field for a top result is more than possible.

No-one knows that better than Chaz Mostert, who came from the back of the grid in 2014 to score an amazing win. The next year the Prodrive Ford FGX Falcon driver crashed out of qualifying and ended his year on crutches.

Yesterday, he safely negotiated qualifying to be fourth fastest and guarantee himself a place in the shootout. It is the first time Mostert has posted an official qualifying time in four attempts at the Great Race.

"It's unbelievable. I just got reminded that this time last year I was carted off in an ambulance and this time I qualified for the Top 10 Shootout,” said Mostert.

“I am pretty stoked. The feeling is mostly relief and I could see it on Dad and [step mother] Anne’s faces when I walked into the garage. There was joy and relief in equal measure.

“Most of the crew are the same guys as this time last year and you could see their relief and happiness too. We’re a close bunch so it’s nice to see them so excited.”

Four-time Bathurst winner Whincup survived a late challenge from Volvo driver Scott McLaughlin, setting a best time of 2 min 05.0481, sec just 0.1031 sec ahead of the young New Zealander.

"It was a great day,” said Whincup. “A Supercar with fresh tyres is a great feeling. We maximised and used three sets of tyres.

“Fingers crossed tomorrow afternoon has a quality track which will give us the best conditions. It’s late in the afternoon so it cools down. I have been on the receiving end here with rain, so hopefully its kind to me tomorrow.

“I haven’t worked out my approach yet. There are no points for qualifying. We will go hard, but we don’t want to be too risky.

“Everyone is fair competition, everyone is quick at the moment, but all it takes is one good lap. The car’s performance is just as strong as yesterday, so if it continues like this through the weekend we have great potential."

Tim Slade did a brilliant job despite a faulty dash to claim third fastest in the BJR Holden, while Fabian Coulthard was fifth fastest in the DJR Team Penske he will share with motoring.com.au’s Luke Youlden, pursued by Virgin Australia Supercars Championship leader Shane van Gisbergen in the second Red Bull Commodore.

Defending VASC champion Mark Winterbottom (Prodrive Falcon) was seventh fastest, with Scott Pye (DJRTP Ford), Garth Tander (HRT) and Michael Caruso completing the top 10, the Nissan Altima driver qualifying for his first top 10 shootout.

The carsales.com.au Altima of Todd Kelly and Matthew Campbell qualified in a disappointing 19th place.

"The car was quite competitive in a lot of areas in qualifying. It was really just two corners that I couldn't get the car around,” said Kelly. “Unfortunately one of them cost me a lot of time.

“Every time we put a set of tyres on it, and I tried something different. we couldn't get it right. That's what makes it the most frustrating. Ninety per cent of the lap is quite good, it's just one corner that puts us where we are.

“We've got a good race car, and now we've got a lot of good data on how Caruso's getting through those parts of the track. Hopefully come Sunday the last thing we're worried about is what happened today."