Kostecki claims provisional Bathurst 1000 pole position

The #38 Shell V-Power Racing Team Ford Mustang set a 2:04.0307s on Friday afternoon, pipping the #88 Red Bull Ampol Racing Chevrolet Camaro of Broc Feeney by just 0.0064s in an enthralling session.

Kostecki fired the first warning shot at the beginning of qualifying, putting on a new set of tyres to go fastest.

He ended it the way he started, clocking the best lap of any driver to secure his spot as the last car out in Saturday’s Top 10 Shootout.

“That was probably one of the best laps of my career to be honest,” said Kostecki.

“We haven’t really worked on the car in quali trim that much, it feels pretty stable in race trim, but it’s been a little bit evil in qualifying, to be honest.

“We’ll get stuck into some race runs tomorrow before the Shootout. I’m feeling pretty excited about the race on Sunday.”

Ryan Wood was third for Walkinshaw Andretti United in the #2 Mobil 1 Truck Assist Mustang, coming within 0.0560s of provisional pole.

The other cars to advance to the Top 10 Shootout include Anton De Pasquale (Team 18), rookie Cooper Murray (Erebus Motorsport), Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United), Cameron Waters (Tickford Racing), Cameron Hill (Matt Stone Racing), Nick Percat (Matt Stone Racing), and Thomas Randle (Tickford Racing).

The first driver on the outside looking in was Macauley Jones in the #96 Brad Jones Racing Camaro. Jones looked like he would advance until a last-minute surge from his opponents, having sat eighth.

The most noteworthy omission was the #1 Camaro of Will Brown, who was 12th and 0.2880s off pole position.

While Kostecki was on top, his teammate Will Davison was only 14th in the sister car.

The two-time Bathurst 1000 winner grazed the wall at Metal Grate early on in the 40-minute session. Despite the hit, car #17 suffered no serious damage and came to the pits with two scratched wheels and a missing wing mirror.

Having shown some speed earlier in the day during Practice 4, James Golding was only 13th in the #31 PremiAir Racing Camaro. His teammate Richie Stanaway was only 23rd.

David Reynolds was another noteworthy driver to miss the Shootout. While De Pasquale was fourth, the recently re-signed Reynolds was 15th and four tenths off the pace.

Even more puzzling was Grove Racing, whose Matthew Payne and Kai Allen were only 18th and 21st.

Supercars action at the Repco Bathurst 1000 continues on Saturday with Practice 5 at 10:05am AEDT before the additional drive Practice 6 at 1:10pm AEDT. The Top 10 Shootout is scheduled for 5:05pm AEDT.

Results: Repco Supercars Championship Repco Bathurst 1000, Qualifying