Waters fastest in closing Bathurst 12 Hour practice

There was plenty of gamesmanship in the final hitout before qualifying, with several Silver and Bronze class cars among the quickest entries.

Waters was the quickest Pro ahead of the Bronze class Heart of Racing by SPS Mercedes-AMG driven by Ross Gunn.

Jamie Day was another surprise packet, ending up third in the older model Aston Martin Vantage by Volante Rosso.

Tony D’Alberto put in a late effort to go fourth fastest in the Wall Racing Lamborghini Huracan.

The Bend-backed Porsche 911 was fifth after an early effort in the session by Laurins Heinrich, who sat atop the order until late in the piece.

Waters was baulked during one of his flying laps at the death by the Porsche but had enough time left in the session to set the top time.

“I was up on all the laps and then the traffic was just getting in my way,” said Waters.

“The Porsche was real bad. Lucky to get a lap at the end. It was probably the perfect conditions right at the end there. The track was rubbered up the most.

“The car is really good. We’re definitely pushing out there and getting the most out of it, which is cool.”

Traffic across the top of the Mountain 🚦#B12Hr pic.twitter.com/4QdfoJ4LUe

— Bathurst 12 Hour (@Bathurst12hour) February 1, 2025

D’Alberto suggested there might have been some “foxing” going on by the race favourites.

Several high-profile entries did not set a time in the top 50 percent, meaning they will be part of the first leg of qualifying. That gets underway at 1:05pm AEDT.

Among those to miss out were both Arise Racing entries. Notably, Chaz Mostert had a near miss with the wall under the tree at the top of the mountain (video below).

Close call with the wall for Mostert in the Ferrari 😬#B12Hr pic.twitter.com/GmwOoaQ80Y

— Bathurst 12 Hour (@Bathurst12hour) February 1, 2025

Craft-Bamboo Racing’s Mercedes-AMG also failed to make the cut into the second leg of qualifying.

Asked about whether he would be pushing to take pole position, Waters said: “I’d love to start off pole around here.

“I think the car is quick enough and the team has done a really good job to get the balance a little bit nicer for us. It’s nice to start at the front, but it doesn’t win the race.”

Results: Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour Practice 6