Look for qualifying to be dictated by the weather at Mount Panorama this weekend.
The long range forecast, issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, suggests that Friday and Saturday will see ‘a shower or two,’ possibly mixing up the grid for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
This year, V8 Supercars’ events have been largely void of wet weather races. Only one wet qualifying session has been contested (Hamilton, Sunday). In that session, pole position was decided in the opening laps when the track was at its driest.
The last time it rained at Mount Panorama was in 2009 when a mid-race downpour left many drivers – full time and part time – battling on slick tyres to keep their cars on the road.
Lucky 7 Racing’s Tim Slade says that he has looked at the weather outlook, but admits that he’ll worry about it later in the week.
“The weather has crossed my mind. I’ve been looking at it the last few days, and looks a bit dodgy for qualifying,” Slade told Speedcafe.com.
“There’s been a lot of races where they’ve said we’re going to have rain, but we’ve been fortunate to have it dry.
“Looks, it’s weather, it’s unpredictable, but it’s the same for everybody.”
Slade has only driven at Bathurst in the wet once before (2009).
“The only wet laps I’ve done was in the 2009 race. A lot of those laps were on slicks and it is a treacherous place to be when that’s the case,” he said.
“The first Bathurst I ever went to was in 2000 with a mate as a spectator. It was very wet that weekend and I remember walking around in ankle deep mud all weekend. Hopefully it’s not like that!”
This weekend’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 starts with practice this Thursday. Qualifying will follow on Friday, the top 10 shootout on Saturday then the 161-lap race on Sunday, October 9.
