Zach Bates will become the first rookie since 2001 to start the Bathurst 1000 in pole position after stunning Mount Panorama for the second day in a row to win the Top 10 Shootout qualifying competition.
A day after clocking the fastest time around the circuit in this generation of supercars and earning provisional pole, 22-year-old Bates denied Brodie Kostecki the unprecedented feat of becoming the first driver to claim four successive pole positions in the Great Race.
The Top 10 Shootout pits the fastest 10 drivers from Fridayโs qualifiers in a single solo lap around the Mount Panorama circuit. Their times set the first 10 positions on the grid for the main race on Sunday.
On the verge of history, Kostecki led with just Bates left to drive on Saturday afternoon. Having started from pole in each of the last three years, Kostecki finished his lap 0.4942 seconds ahead of the next best driver. Only legends Peter Brock and Allan Moffat have also claimed three successive poles, with neither able to claim a fourth.
With three drivers remaining, it looked like Kostecki was destined to become the first to achieve the feat. The third, Cooper Murray rounded the final turn, Murrays Corner, within a tenth of a second before ultimately crossing the finish line 0.2058 seconds slower than Kostecki.
Then, Anton De Pasquale booted his Chevrolet Camaro around Mount Panorama only to finish 0.0384 seconds behind Kosteckiโs time.
Only Bates, who recorded the fastest qualifying time on Friday, was left. Bates gained on Kostecki at each split, crossing the line 0.2850 faster.
The rookie was visibly emotional afterwards. After racing on Friday, Bates paid tribute to his mother and motorsport TV presenter Alison Drower, who died two weeks before his maiden Bathurst 1000 start last year as a wildcard entrant with veteran co-driver Craig Lowndes.
Speaking to reporters after the race, Bates was asked what his dad had to say to him in the pit.
โHe didnโt say anything โ he was crying,โ Bates said.
Now in just his second start, he will start from pole โ becoming just the third rookie, and the first since Marcos Ambrose in 2001, to do so.
โIt wouldโve been cool, but Iโd rather have my name engraved on the [Peter Brock] trophy,โ Kostecki said of his failure to nab a fourth pole.
Earlier, James Golding grazed the wall and finished with a time of 2:05:3028. It was better than the next attempt from former winner Matt Payne, who, despite being one of the best qualifiers in the Supercars Championship this year, finished the Shootout in 10th.
Full-season rookie Jayden Ojeda took the lead after three drivers, only to be knocked down a position when Jack Le Brocq finished ahead of him at the halfway mark, becoming the first driver of the day to record a sub 2:05 lap.
A duck gatecrashed proceedings at one point during the afternoonโs practice session when it crossed the circuit with a number of ducklings in tow, forcing Mark Winterbottom to break. His Mustang was damaged when James Courtney then rear-ended him.
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