Zach Bates takes Bathurst 1000 pole and ends Kostecki’s streak

Zach Bates, 22, won the Top 10 Shootout to claim Bathurst 1000 pole position. He beat Brodie Kostecki by 0.2850 seconds at Mount Panorama, denying him a fourth consecutive pole in the event.

Saturday’s Shootout gave the ten fastest drivers from Friday one timed lap each. Their results set the first ten grid positions for Sunday’s race. Bates ran last and gained on Kostecki at every timing split.

The official Supercars website recorded Bates’ lap at 2 minutes 4.2062 seconds. It is his first career pole in the championship and Matt Stone Racing’s first Bathurst 1000 pole.

This will be Bates’ second Bathurst 1000 start, but his first full season in the main Supercars championship. His rookie status therefore does not mean he has never contested this race. He became the first such rookie on pole since Marcos Ambrose in 2001.

Kostecki had led by 0.4942 seconds before the final challengers. Cooper Murray finished 0.2058 seconds behind him and Anton De Pasquale 0.0384 seconds adrift. Bates ultimately ended Kostecki’s bid for four consecutive Bathurst poles. Peter Brock and Allan Moffat also achieved three in succession, but not four.

On Friday, Bates had already set the fastest qualifying lap of the Gen3 era at the circuit. He dedicated his performance to his mother Alison Drower, a motorsport television presenter who died two weeks before his debut alongside Craig Lowndes last year.

James Golding brushed the wall in the Shootout and recorded 2:05.3028. Matt Payne finished the session tenth. Jayden Ojeda briefly led before Jack Le Brocq became the first driver of the day to complete a lap under 2:05.

In practice, a duck and ducklings crossed the track, causing Mark Winterbottom to brake. James Courtney then hit the rear of his Mustang and damaged the car. That incident occurred before the main race and was not part of its result.