Winterbottom tops Bathurst qualifying
A lap in the dying seconds of qualifying has given Ford Performance Racing's Mark Winterbottom the fastest time in qualifying ahead of tomorrow's top ten shootout for this weekend's Supercheap Auto 1000 at Bathurst
Team Vodafone's Jamie Whincup set the early pace in the second leg of qualifying to determine the runners for tomorrow's shootout as rain threatened to affect the session. Halfway through the session Jason Richards edged ahead to move himself to the top of the times.
But in a repeat of last year, Winterbottom went out late and went to the top, with a tenth separating him, Jason Richards, Whincup and James Courtney in fourth position.
Sandown 500 winner Garth Tander put his Holden Racing Team car next in fifth, followed by Rick Kelly, Will Davison, Fabian Coulthard and Russell Ingall who held on to tenth position by 0.0048 of a second after a late challenge by Max Wilson.
Not enough speed meant Shane van Gisbergen failed to make the top ten and will start 13th, while the Garry Rogers car of Lee Holdsworth will be alongside after hitting the wall exiting the Dipper following a problem with the car's steering.
The second cars of most of the frontrunners again struggled, the second cars of Ford Performance Racing, Holden Racing Team, Team Vodafone, Sprint Gas Racing and Supercheap Auto Racing down the grid in 17th, 20th, 25th, 26th and 27th respectively.
The field is down to 27 after a big crash over the top of the mountain in practice. In an accident reminiscent of the one which claimed Mark Porter's life in 2006, Chris Pither slammed into the side of Paul Weel at almost exactly the same point on the track.
Both cars were extensively damaged in the crash, Pither unscathed while Paul Weel has been taken to hospital in Sydney for precautionary checks but appears to have escaped almost unscathed.
Pos Drivers Make Time 1. Mark Winterbottom/Steven Richards Ford 2:07.1920 2. Jason Richards/Greg Murphy Holden 2:07.2333 + 0.0413 3. Jamie Whincup/Craig Lowndes Ford 2:07.2699 + 0.0779 4. James Courtney/David Besnard Ford 2:07.2972 + 0.1052 5. Garth Tander/Mark Skaife Holden 2:07.3645 + 0.1725 6. Rick Kelly/Paul Radisich Holden 2:07.4401 + 0.2481 7. Will Davison/Steven Johnson Ford 2:07.4599 + 0.2679 8. Paul Dumbrell/David Reynolds Holden 2:07.6094 + 0.4174 9. Fabian Coulthard/Alex Davison Ford 2:07.7321 + 0.5401 10. Russell Ingall/Paul Morris Holden 2:07.7974 + 0.6054 11. Max Wilson/Brad Jones Holden 2:07.8022 + 0.6102 12. Jason Bright/Adam Macrow Ford 2:07.9395 + 0.7475 13. Shane Van Gisbergen/Jonathon Webb Ford 2:07.9627 + 0.7707 14. Lee Holdsworth/Michael Caruso Holden 2:07.9968 + 0.8048 15. Steve Owen/Warren Luff Ford 2:08.0369 + 0.8449 16. Cameron McConville/Andrew Jones Holden 2:08.1141 + 0.9221 17. Luke Youlden/Dean Canto Ford 2:08.1676 + 0.9756 18. Todd Kelly/Shane Price Holden 2:08.2226 + 1.0306 19. Jack Perkins/Nathan Pretty Holden 2:08.4667 + 1.2747 20. Craig Baird/Glenn Seton Holden 2:08.5766 + 1.3846 21. Michael Patrizi/Karl Reindler Ford 2:09.4965 + 2.3045 22. Marcus Marshall/Matt Halliday Ford 2:09.6397 + 2.4477 23. Greg Ritter/Steven Ellery Holden 2:09.7451 + 2.5531 24. Tony D'Alberto/Jason Bargwanna Holden 2:09.9264 + 2.7344 25. Fabrizio Giovanardi/Marc Hynes Ford 2:09.9779 + 2.7859 26. Mark Noske/Dale Wood Holden 2:10.2930 + 3.1010 27. Matt Neal/Boris Said Holden 2:11.3259 + 4.1339
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