Bathurst 1000: Coulthard leads Friday qualifying, Whincup crashes

Mark Winterbottom looked to have the best pace throughout the session, setting the quickest time before the final 20 minutes.

An early crash into the wall from Thursday practice pacesetter David Reynolds 10 minutes in brought the first red flag out, with another following for a surprise accident for championship leader Jamie Whincup (pictured below). Those interruptions allowed Winterbottom to maintain an early lead.

Shane van Gisbergen ousted Winterbottom's time by going just 0.03 seconds quicker with six minutes remaining, before a storming lap from Coulthard allowed him to go half a second faster and set the quickest time of the session in his Brad Jones Holden.

Van Gisbergen looked like he might have missed out on the top 10 prior to the lap that took his Tekno Holden to second, ahead of the late charging Dale Wood in the Britek Commodore.

Early pacesetter Winterbottom finished fourth and top Ford, with Scott McLaughlin in fifth for Volvo.

Jason Bright added to a good session for the Commodores in sixth, despite running onto the grass towards the end of the session - a feat replicated by seventh placed Jack Perkins.

Garth Tander and Craig Lowndes rounded out the top 10 going into Saturday's pole shootout.

The newly resurfaced track's lack of grip shook up the established order, with many of the regular frontrunners, including James Courtney and Chaz Mostert, unable to break into the top 10. Mostert was later excluded from qualifying for passing under red flags.

Whincup's trip into the wall leaves him and co-driver Paul Dumbrell with a lot of work to do on race day, when they will start 25th, having struggled with grip all weekend.

FRIDAY QUALIFYING TIMES:

Positions 11th back set by Friday qualifying, 1-10 go through to Saturday pole shootout