John Bowe has put his considerable Bathurst experience to good use by qualifying on pole position for Race 1 of the Touring Car Masters at Mount Panorama.

Driving the Ford Mustang that he affectionately named ‘Sally’, Bowe recorded a best time of 2:21.72s – more than half a second faster than second placed Jim Richards.

“I love driving around the Mount Panorama circuit, the older I get the more I appreciate being able to drive around this place,” said Bowe.

“I’m carrying a 90 kilogram weight penalty and after a bit of a disappointing round at Sandown I’m keen to have a good weekend here.

Gavin Bullas and Andrew Miedecke will share the second row of the grid, while defending round winner Glenn Seton will start from the third row alongside Brad Tilley.

Seton was optimistic for a good showing this weekend after carburetor problems meant he completed only three laps in Practice 1.

“The problems we had this morning were a little disappointing but any chance you get to race around Mt Panorama you take it with open arms,” he said.

“I’ll start from sixth and to be honest I’m really happy because I’m surprised the old girl (Ford Falcon GTHO) got around here that quick.”

When asked if a repeat of last years TCM victory was on the cards Seton saw himself as an outside chance.

“I think it will be pretty hard to beat John Bowe and Jim Richards this weekend, we don’t quite have their pace at the moment,” he said.

“It’s such a great year to be up here racing. Seeing some V8 teams running retro liveries like the 1977 Moffat one really brings back good memories of being here watching them race against my dad.”

TCM will hold Race 1 at 1410 local time tomorrow afternoon before two more 7 lap races on Saturday to wrap up the weekend.