Mostert fastest in final Bathurst 1000 practice as Boys hits wall

Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert has set the pace in final practice at the Repco Bathurst 1000 while Jordan Boys hit the wall in the final minute.

Mostert is provisionally third on the starting grid for tomorrow morning’s race and the 2021 winner drove the #25 Mobil 1 Optus ZB Commodore to a 2:05.5105s during the Top 10 Shootout simulations near the end of Practice 6 for the Supercars Championship field at Mount Panorama.

Shane van Gisbergen (#97 Red Bull Ampol ZB Commodore) finished the session second at 0.1032s off the pace and Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang) third on a 2:05.6305s but might have officially improved if not for the late red flag.

Boys had slapped the wall coming into McPhillamy Park and eventually came to rest in the gravel trap on the other side of the hump in the #96 Wet & Forget ZB Commodore which had been rebuilt by Brad Jones Racing after Macauley Jones’ Qualifying clash with van Gisbergen.

With refuelling allowed, there was also plenty of pit stop practice, including driver changes and brake rotor changes.

The hour-long session was essentially dry given the rain had stopped by the time it got underway.

The track was still drying at that point and the field was split on whether to start on wets or slicks but the pace, and who was setting it, showed that the latter was the choice.

Boys was fastest initially on a 2:11.7708s before a similarly slick-shod David Reynolds (#26 Penrite Mustang) set a 2:09.8627s next time around and shifted the benchmark to a 2:08.5623s on his third lap.

Reynolds was quicker to the second sector on his fourth lap before running off the road at The Chase and it was instead Dale Wood (#8 R&J Batteries ZB Commodore) setting a new fastest lap of 2:08.5572s.

Mostert then set a 2:08.1419s and a 2:07.2045s on back-to-back laps, before Will Davison clocked a 2:06.8944s and a 2:06.8046s either side of the 20-minute mark.

It was a Dick Johnson Racing one-two once Anton De Pasquale (#100 Shell V-Power Mustang) had clocked a 2:06.6674s on his second run, after they had practiced a double-stack pit stop.

Van Gisbergen then set a 2:06.4063s and the top 10 at the half-hour mark was him, De Pasquale, Will Davison, Mostert, Bryce Fullwood (#14 Middy’s ZB Commodore), Scott Pye (#20 Alspec ZB Commodore), provisional pole-sitter Cameron Waters (#6 Monster Energy Mustang), Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries ZB Commodore), Lee Holdsworth (#10 Penrite Mustang), and Nick Percat (#2 Mobil 1 NTI ZB Commodore) at 1.8329s off the pace, the latter of whom was a late starter due to a set-up change.

Mostert went to a 2:06.1651s a few minutes later and that was the start of a relatively long period on top for Car #25, while Heimgartner took up second on a 2:06.3737s in the 42nd minute.

With just over 10 minutes to go, the Top 10 Shootout simulations began.

Will Davison jumped back to the top with a 2:05.6305s and De Pasquale was into second spot with a 2:06.0324s before Brodie Kostecki (#99 Boost Mobile ZB Commodore) went fourth on a 2:06.2106s.

Reynolds, who is not in the Shootout, then went second on a 2:06.0179s before van Gisbergen laid down a 2:05.6137s and Mostert the 2:05.5105s.

Waters was personal-best to the second sector and Will Davison was just about to reach the control line when the red flag came out, the latter saying his dashboard showed a 2:05.5s although it would not count.

That meant the top 10 in the end was Mostert, van Gisbergen, Will Davison, Waters, Reynolds, De Pasquale, Brodie Kostecki, Mark Winterbottom (#18 Irwin Tools ZB Commodore), Holdsworth, and Pye.

Richie Stanaway (#51 Boost Mobile ZB Commodore) was 13th on a 2:06.6016s, Erebus Motorsport team-mate and fellow Shootout participant Will Brown (#9 Boost Mobile ZB Commodore) 14th on a 2:06.6643s, and Broc Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol ZB Commodore) 16th on a 2:06.8456s.

Only 26 cars headed out during the session, with Matt Stone Racing still fixing the #34 Truck Assist ZB Commodore after Aaron Seton’s Practice 5 crash and the #3 CoolDrive Mustang of Tim Slade/Tm Blanchard suffering an airjack failure near the start of proceedings.

The next session is the Top 10 Shootout, this afternoon from 17:05 local time/AEDT.

Results: Practice 6 All drivers