Qualifying: Ford on top
Fords have taken the top two spots in qualifying for the Bathurst 1000, with Glenn Seton and Craig Lowndes taking the honours in the 45-minute qualifying session
Seton sizzled around the Mount Panorama track in his Ford Tickford Racing Falcon, his 2m09.67s lap the fastest-ever lap around the 3.8-mile track in the event's 39 year history.
After having small problems during practice, Lowndes found the sweet spot of his brand new Gibson Motorsport Falcon to trail Seton by only 0.18s, and lead his former Holden Racing Team team-mate Mark Skaife by a tenth of a second.
HRT's Jason Bright was fourth ahead of John Bowe's Falcon, while Russell Ingall (Commodore), Steve Ellery (Falcon) and Todd Kelly (Commodore) rounded out the top eight.
The biggest surprises of the session came from two 'once a year' drivers. Greg Ritter out-qualified his more experienced Dick Johnson Racing team-mates Paul Radisich and Steven Johnson in 10th, while six-time 'Great Race' winner Jim Richards hauled FTR's second Falcon to 13th.
The top 15 grid spots will be determined in a single-lap run-off to be conducted on Saturday morning.
1 Glenn Seton/Steven Richards, Ford, 2m09.67s
2 Craig Lowndes/Neil Crompton, Ford, 2m09.85s
3 Mark Skaife/Tony Longhurst, Holden, 2m09.96s
4 Jason Bright/Tomas Mezera, Holden, 2m10.22s
5 John Bowe/Simon Wills, Ford, 2m10.24s
6 Russell Ingall/Larry Perkins ,Holden, 2m10.48s
NB: First-named drivers set qualifying time
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