Cameron Waters has teed off for this weekend’s Bathurst 1000 Supercars race by beating qualifying times at Mount Panorama on Friday.
The aptly named Waters emerged from a wet and slippery session to set a time of 2m23.6168s in the Monster Energy/Tickford Ford Mustang that he will share in Sunday’s race with James Moffat. The result was something of a flip for the duo, who suffered from a lack of pace during Thursday’s dry practice sessions.
“We are excited; we just wanted to make sure we were in the top 10,” Waters said after the session. “We weren’t too bad in the dry earlier in the day [but] with the rain, we were not sure.”
Waters topped the sheets ahead of the two men who shared victory from Bathurst in 2021. Lee Holdsworth, who has announced he will retire from racing full-time at the end of the year, edged out his 2021 co-driver Chaz Mostert by 0.01s to take second place in his Penrite Oils/Grove Racing Ford.
Mostert was third, leading team co-owners Ryan Walkinshaw and Zak Brown, who took a weekend off due to the McLaren Formula 1 team’s Japanese Grand Prix commitments to take part in the “Grand Race” from Australia.
Shane van Gisbergen was fourth fastest, even after a mountaintop collision with the Holden of Macauley Jones. The series leader hit Jones, who hit the wall backwards as he approached the Dipper. As a result, the runaway points leader will be penalized three grid positions following Saturday’s Top 10 Shootout.
LAST MINUTE: Van Gisbergen sanctioned for clash with Jones #RepcoSC #Bathurst1000https://t.co/Rb5Bqxqi8G pic.twitter.com/pB54g3Ug6d
— Supercars (@supercars) October 7, 2022
With all due respect to the riders before him, Richie Stanaway was the star of the session. The New Zealander effectively retired from racing at the end of the 2019 season, returning to the sport only at the urging of long-time sponsor Peter Adderton of Boost Mobile and New Zealand racing legend Greg Murphy, who last drove at Bathurst in 2014. The duo are racing as one of three ‘wild card’ entries in a Holden supplied by Erebus Motorsport and run, effectively, by a truck team made up of experienced staff.
With the skies opening ahead of the session, Stanaway was always going to be the man in the car, but few expected him to run in the top 10 for almost all 45 minutes of the session, then jump out of the top five in the closing minutes. . .
Will Davison was sixth-fastest in the Shell/Dick Johnson Racing Mustang, repainted for this race in the colors Johnson himself wore when he raced at Bathurst with his son Steven in 1998. This year’s race marks the 1,000th race of the Australian legend as a driver or team. owner.
Former race winner Nick Percat took seventh place in the NTI/WAU Holden which he will share with veteran driver (and podium regular) Warren Luff, only holding off veteran James Courtney, who will drive his Tickford Ford with the star rising Zack Best.
Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown rounded out the top 10, Erebus Motorsport regulars not too concerned about being outshone by Stanaway this time around. Brown was particularly happy his car was hastily repaired after an accident in the previous practice session.
The top 10 drivers will enter the single-car Shootout session on Saturday afternoon, with the rest of the grid headed by three drivers who missed the top 10 by 0.01s; Anton De Pasquale (Shell/DJR Ford), Andre Heimgartner (R&J Batteries/BJR Holden) and James Golding (Subway/PremiAir Racing Holden).
Former Bathurst winner Craig Lowndes was among those who struggled in the wet conditions…
There are several former Bathurst race winners who will line up outside the top 10. Jamie Whincup will start Sunday from 14th, Craig Lowndes from 16th, David Reynolds from 18th and Mark Winterbottom from 23rd.
There will be two more practice sessions on Saturday before the Shootout begins at 5:05pm Sydney time.
QUALIFYING RESULTS:
Pos Drivers Sponsor/Team Car Time
1 Cameron Waters/James Moffat Monster Energy/Tickford Ford Mustang 2m23.6168s
2 Lee Holdsworth/Matt Payne Penrite Oils/Grove Racing Ford Mustang 2m23.8296s
3 Chaz Mostert/Fabian Coulthard Optus/WAU Holden Commodore 2m23.8361s
4 Shane van Gisbergen/Garth Tander Red Bull/Triple 8 Holden Commodore 2m24.0665s
5 Richie Stanaway/Greg Murphy Boost Mobile/Erebus Holden Commodore 2m24.3527s
6 Will Davison/Alex Davison Shell/Dick Johnson Racing Ford Mustang 2m24.4223s
7 Nick Percat/Warren Luff NTI/WAU Holden Commodore 2m24.5634s
8 James Courtney/Zack Best Snowy River Caravans/Tickford Ford Mustang 2m24.6455s
9 Brodie Kostecki/David Russell Boost Mobile/Erebus Holden Commodore 2m24.7897s
10 Will Brown/Jack Perkins Boost Mobile/Erebus Holden Commodore 2m25.0004s