Fabian Coulthard has won provisional pole for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in a dramatic qualifying session that saw heavy crashes for front-runners Jamie Whincup and David Reynolds.

Coulthard clocked a record breaking 2:05.61s lap with six of the session’s scheduled 40 minutes remaining.

On top by a full 0.6s, the Kiwi then sat out the closing stages confident that he had locked himself into the Top 10 Shootout.

Shane van Gisbergen missed out on knocking his countryman from the head of the order by just 0.09s after a last gasp effort.

The Tekno Holden had been seemingly unaffected by an earlier brush with the exit wall at The Dipper.

Underlining Brad Jones Racing’s strong form was an outstanding third for Dale Wood and a sixth for Jason Bright.

Bright had at one point appeared on course to threaten Coulthard’s time before running off at The Chase.

“It’s full credit to the boys,” smiled Coulthard.

“From Sandown we were lacking a bit of pace and we’ve been working tirelessly and haven’t had a hell of a lot of sleep.

“If I can repay them like this then we all should be pretty happy.”

Mark Winterbottom was at the top of the order for much of the going but fell to fourth after failing to improve late on.

Scott McLaughlin, Jack Perkins, James Moffat, Garth Tander and Craig Lowndes complete the Shootout field.

Lowndes and Wood both jumped into the Top 10 after the chequered flag flew, bumping out Walkinshaw duo James Courtney and Nick Percat.

Reynolds and Whincup will meanwhile start from the rear of the grid after their sessions ended early against the concrete.

Reynolds heavily damaged The Bottle-O Ford at Sulman Park after losing control while trying to go around the outside of a Jack Daniel’s Nissan.

“I came over the crest at the grate and was a little bit wide because of the slower car and it was all over after that,” explained Reynolds after leaving the medical centre.

“I’m physically fine but emotionally I’m a bit destroyed. The boys are looking at a pretty bent car.”

Soon after the resumption of running, Whincup slid his Red Bull Holden into the fence at The Cutting, causing a second red flag.

The crash is another setback in what is proving a difficult weekend for the championship leader, whose Red Bull team has struggled to adapt to the resurfaced circuit.

“I’ve almost done it five or six times this weekend and it finally got me in the end,” he said of the crash.

“(But it was) my error, I shouldn’t be pushing harder than the car will allow.

“Fingers crossed that with another practice session tomorrow, we can have a good car (by the race).”

A final practice session will take place tomorrow morning ahead of the evening’s Top 10 Shootout.

Result: V8 Supercars Qualifying, Bathurst

1

Lockwood Racing

Fabian Coulthard

Holden Commodore VF

02:05.61

2

Team Tekno VIP Petfoods

Shane Van Gisbergen

Holden Commodore VF

02:05.70

00:00.09

3

Team Advam/GB

Dale Wood

Holden Commodore VF

02:06.24

00:00.63

4

Ford Pepsi Max Crew

Mark Winterbottom

Ford Falcon FG

02:06.26

00:00.65

5

Valvoline Racing GRM

Scott McLaughlin

Volvo S60

02:06.34

00:00.73

6

Team BOC

Jason Bright

Holden Commodore VF

02:06.48

00:00.87

7

Team JELD-WEN

Jack Perkins

Ford Falcon FG

02:06.53

00:00.93

8

Norton Hornets

James Moffat

Nissan Altima

02:06.61

00:01.00

9

Holden Racing Team

Garth Tander

Holden Commodore VF

02:06.62

00:01.01

10

Red Bull Racing Australia

Craig Lowndes

Holden Commodore VF

02:06.71

00:01.10

11

Holden Racing Team

James Courtney

Holden Commodore VF

02:06.72

00:01.11

12

Walkinshaw Racing

Nick Percat

Holden Commodore VF

02:06.75

00:01.14

13

Jack Daniel's Racing

Todd Kelly

Nissan Altima

02:06.81

00:01.20

14

Ford Pepsi Max Crew

Chaz Mostert

Ford Falcon FG

02:06.84

00:01.23

15

Norton Hornets

Michael Caruso

Nissan Altima

02:06.89

00:01.28

16

Jack Daniel's Racing

Rick Kelly

Nissan Altima

02:06.89

00:01.28

17

Wilson Security Racing

Scott Pye

Ford Falcon FG

02:07.27

00:01.66

18

Erebus Team Beko

Will Davison

Mercedes E63 AMG

02:07.50

00:01.89

19

Erebus Motorsport V8

Lee Holdsworth

Mercedes E63 AMG

02:07.55

00:01.94

20

Repair Management Aust Racing

Russell Ingall

Holden Commodore VF

02:07.58

00:01.97

21

Supercheap Auto Racing

Tim Slade

Holden Commodore VF

02:07.90

00:02.29

22

Valvoline Racing GRM

Robert Dahlgren

Volvo S60

02:08.26

00:02.65

23

Wilson Security Racing

David Wall

Ford Falcon FG

02:08.39

00:02.78

24

Super Black Racing

Ant Pedersen

Ford Falcon FG

02:08.49

00:02.88

25

Red Bull Racing Australia

Jamie Whincup

Holden Commodore VF

02:19.51

00:13.91

26

The Bottle-O Racing Team

David Reynolds

Ford Falcon FG

03:48.13

01:42.53

VIDEO: The aftermath of Reynolds’ crash

VIDEO: Whincup hits the wall at The Cutting