Qualifying: Holden rules
Holden set up a repeat of its dominant victory in last year's Bathurst 24-hour by sweeping the front row for this year's running of the event with its mighty 7-litre Monaros
Garth Tander was the quickest man around the daunting Mount Panorama circuit in qualifying today (Friday), setting a time of 2m13.285s in his bright yellow Holden, apparently dubbed the 'nuclear banana.' Tander will share the car with Nathan Pretty, Steven Richard and Cameron McConville.
"Two Monaros on the front row is a great start, but starting first means nothing if you're not in the running at the end of the 24th hour," said Tander. "We're all extremely pleased with how both of the Monaros are performing and we're looking forward to the race."
Greg Murphy was the fastest driver in the second, all-red Monaro (comedy nickname not disclosed), although his best time was over 2s slower than Tanders. Murphy will share his machine with Peter Brock, Jason Bright and Todd Kelly.
John Bowe was the fastest non-Holden runner in third, driving a BMW M3 GTR, while Briton Martin Short set an impressive time in the final, night-time qualifying session to lift the Mosler MT 900R to claim fourth.
The other major British works entry present at the Mountain, the Morgan Aero 8, will start from 15th on the grid.
The night-time session passed without major incident, despite warnings from wildlife authorities that kangaroos living in the Mount Panorama surroundings could hop onto the track around dusk. Regardless, teams are taking the kangaroo threat seriously - around half the field have special sonic repeller devices fitted to ward off the animals.
The race begins at 2pm on Saturday afternoon in Australia (1am Saturday morning GMT).
Tander/Pretty/McConville/Richard Holden Monaro 2m13.285s
Brock/Murphy/Bright/T Kelly Holden Monaro 2m15.974s
Bowe/Crompton/Crick/Algadri BMW M3 GTR 2m17.6832s
Short/Pearce/Lamb/Spurle Mosler MT 900R 2m18.107s
Morris/Fitzgerald/Shearman/Teulan Porsche 911 GT3 2m18.332s
Stokell/Simonsen/Youlden/Hackett Lamborghini Diablo 2m19.562s
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