Supercars rookie joins elite club to claim maiden pole at Bathurst 1000
Zach Bates has joined an elite club of Supercars greats to claim a maiden pole position for the Bathurst 1000.
Bates was the last car out in Saturday’s top-10 shootout, having set the fastest time in Friday qualifying.
Zach Bates embraces his father, Rick, after securing pole position. Fox Sports
And he proved it was no fluke when he set a blistering time in the shootout to go nearly three tenths clear of Brodie Kostecki, in the process denying the Ford driver a record-breaking fourth consecutive Bathurst 1000 pole.
Bates joins Craig Lowndes (1996) and Mark Larkham (1999) as those to have claimed their maiden poles at The Great Race.
“I can’t believe it. Honestly, I cannot believe it,” Bates said on the broadcast.
"You know, I had a good feeling throughout the week, but I didn't think the thing could go this fast.
"I've got an incredible team behind me … we're a young, up-and-coming team and it's certainly very cool to get this done."
It’s his Matt Stone Racing team’s second pole.
“I just went for it. We were quite (understeery) in practice, which I was quite worried about going into the shootout, but the ambient (air temperature) came down, track (grip) came up … it was great, mate,” Bates continued.
"It's super special to do a lap here by yourself. It's unbelievable."
As Bates rolled down pit lane after his lap, many of his peers and colleagues in the paddock came out of their garages to applaud.
Even Kostecki seemed chuffed for the 22-year-old.
“I love a good underdog story – I’ve been a part of one in the past, so I’m super happy for those guys,” he said, referencing his 2023 championship triumph for Erebus Motorsport.
Zach Bates in action. Getty Images
The thunderstorms that were forecast for Saturday afternoon stayed well away, and the track was bathed in sunshine.
Having set the 10th-quickest time on Friday, James Golding was first out, and set a solid but unspectacular time. He clipped the wall on the inside of the Cutting, but escaped damage.
Matt Payne was next, and the reigning Bathurst champion put together a solid lap but surprisingly fell half a tenth short of Golding.
Then came Jayden Ojeda, who surprisingly went one and a half tenths quicker than his two rivals to top the sheets.
Jack Le Brocq got a brilliant run across the top of the mountain and through Forrest’s Elbow to be the first to dip into the 2:04s for the day and go quickest himself.
David Reynolds was next, and set a blistering first sector time, but might have overheated his tyres as he only went third quickest at the time.
Then came Kostecki, whose DJR mechanics had earlier managed a transaxle change between final practice and qualifying.
It’s Bates’ maiden pole position, and the second for his Matt Stone Racing team. Getty Images
Kostecki was up by half a second through the first two sectors and maintained the margin down Conrod Straight to the line.
Will Brown was next, and the 2024 champion never looked like getting close to Kostecki’s time. He had a massive sideways moment at McPhillamy Park, and went only third quickest.
Then came young gun Cooper Murray. He all but matched Kostecki through the first two sectors, but lost time in the final sector to go second.
Anton de Pasquale was also up on Kostecki’s time through the first two sectors, and despite a clean sector, fell four one hundredths shy of Kostecki’s time to go second again.
Bates – in his first full-time Supercars campaign – was last on the track, and went well over a tenth quicker than Kostecki through the first sector, and was a quarter of a second up at the second interval.
When he crossed the line, the Mount Panorama circuit went ballistic as he took a historic pole by nearly three tenths of a second.
Bathurst 1000 top-10 shootout results
- 1. Zach Bates | 2:04.206
- 2. Brodie Kostecki | 2:04.491 (+0.285)
- 3. Anton De Pasquale | 2:04.530 (+0.324)
- 4. Cooper Murray | 2:04.697 (+0.491)
- 5. Jack LeBrocq | 2:04.985 (+0.779)
- 6. Will Brown | 2:05.120 (+0.914)
- 7. Jayden Ojeda | 2:05.156 (+0.950)
- 8. David Reynolds | 2:05.173 (+0.967)
- 9. James Golding | 2:05.303 (+1.097)
- 10. Matt Payne | 2:05.352 (+1.146)
