‘For my mum’: Rookie’s emotional provisional pole shocks Bathurst
Zach Bates has shocked the Supercars paddock with a performance good enough to place him in a club of one.
The only driver in a Gen3 era car to ever post a 2:03 lap around Mount Panorama.
Bates has only raced twice at Bathurst. Robert Cianflone
No champions or much more experienced drivers have been able to punch through the time barrier, but a rookie from Matt Stone Racing did it in Friday’s qualifying session.
Bates had the pace all day, and flew to the top of the board with a 2:03.937s lap.
After arriving to pit lane, his dad - Rick Bates - was in tears and the team celebrated like never before.
“I can’t believe it. Yeah, I am speechless,” Bates said on the Fox coverage.
“It’s just a whole credit to the crew behind me. The boys and girls have been working so hard.
“It was an incredible session. It’s our best session that we get to do every year...so luckily enough, I made it work.”
This is Bates’ second year in the Bathurst 1000, in 2025 he partnered icon Craig Lowndes in the Triple Eight wildcard.
He admitted the provisional pole was for his late mother, Alison Drower, who passed just over a year ago.
Drower was a well-known media personality in both Australian media and in the motorsport industry, passing in 2025 due to a rare form of cancer on the eve of Zach racing in his first Bathurst.
Bates’ father Rick and uncle Neal are both accomplished drivers themselves, with Neil’s sons, Harry and Lewis, stars in their own right in the rally world.
They all were there to celebrate the young 22-year-old.
“Yeah, this is for my mum who passed last year. I can’t believe we’ve had a pretty average year, the whole family,” said Bates.
“So this is definitely a highlight and yeah, super thankful.
“My dad, Rick, has just put so much effort in. All those years of go-karting and him spannering the Formula Ford and things like that.
“These are the moments where you take it and you thank him.
“He didn’t say too much. He was in tears. It’s surreal to have Harry, Lewis, Neil and the whole extended family here as well.
Rick Bates in tears after his son’s provisional pole. Fox
“That’s pretty cool. I’ll be making sure to have a little celebration and an early night.”
Bates now has the challenge of proving his prowess over one lap again in Saturday’s top ten shootout, where rain is expected to challenge the grid.
Joining the rookie in the top ten shootout is Anton De Pasquale, Cooper Murray (Erebus), Will Brown (Triple Eight), Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing), David Reynolds (Team 18), Le Brocq, Jayden Ojeda (PremiAir Racing), Matt Payne (Grove Racing) and James Golding (Blanchard Racing Team).
The Canberra-born Bates will be last out on the track during the one-lap dash, as Saturday’s session goes from slowest to fastest from Friday’s results.
When asked of his historic performance, Bates said the “underdog” status of his team would be spurring him on to convert the shock provisional to a front-row start for the 66th running of the Bathurst 1000.
“To be able to dip into the threes and let alone be at the top of a session with such amazing competition is super surreal,” Bates continued.
“(Like) Will Brown in his rookie year got the provisional pole as well.
“It seems like a similar feeling. It’s a bit of an underdog trying to get done.”
Some shock shootout omissions included Kai Allen, Broc Feeney, Thomas Randle, Cam Waters and Chaz Mostert.
Saturday’s action at the Bathurst 1000 begins with the fifth practice of the weekend, a co-drivers only session at 10:05am AEDT.
