Waters set a 2:02.3574s in the #222 Mercedes-AMG, topping another incident-free practice.

Speaking post-session, the Supercars star said his rivals hadn’t shown their best performance yet.

“We put some tyres on to see where we ended up,” said Waters.

“I feel like there are a fair few people not showing their hand at the moment.

“I think everyone won’t be able to help themselves [in qualifying. They’ll have a crack, for sure.

“It will be cool to see where we are in quali trim and hopefully we can stay up the top.”

Waters explained that he was not hellbent on getting pole position, but said a strong starting position would be important.

“You obviously want to start up the front of the race in the clean air with a fast car, so that’s obviously our aim,” he said.

“We’re not that committed to trying to get pole, obviously it would be nice. As long as we’re up the front and we can get a good start, we’ll be alright.”

Broc Feeney was the first driver to dip into the 2m02s bracket in the #64 Haupt Racing Team Ford Mustang. His 2:02.9169s stood the test, ending the session in 11th to book his Qualifying 2 berth.

Marco Mappelli’s best effort, a 2:02.5768s in the #93 Wall Racing Lamborghini Huracan, spent the lion’s share of the session atop the leaderboard until Waters’ last lap.

Mapelli wound up third with Christopher Haase in the #55 Melbourne Performance Centre Audi R8 putting in a late 2:02.5199s to go second-fastest.

Practice 6 played an important role in the complexion of the race, with the top 50 percent advancing to Qualifying 2 while the bottom 50 percent will be in Qualifying 1.

Optimum Motorsport’s #95 McLaren 720S was the last car to book its place in Qualifying 2 with a 2:03.3483s in the hands of Marvin Kirchhoefer.

There were some notable absentees form the Pro class, including both Arise Racing Ferrari 296 entries and the #888 Team GMR Mercedes-AMG.

Other Pro entries that failed to make the top 17 included the #61 Earl Bamber Motorsport Porsche 911 in 22nd, the #2 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette Z06 in 23rd, and the #77 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG in 26th.

Qualifying 1 at the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour gets underway at 1:05pm AEDT. Qualifying 2 will follow at 1:50pm AEDT before Qualifying 3 at 4:15pm AEDT.

Results: Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour Practice 6, Mount Panorama