-
Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
V8 Supercars
V8: Will Davison, Ford On Bathurst 1000 Pole
Ford's Will Davison held off a dramatic challenge from best mate Jamie Whincup to grab the first Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Armor All pole.
Ford Performance Racing's Will Davison earned his first Bathurst 1000 pole on Saturday. (Photo: Mark Horsburgh/V8 Supercars)
Ford's Will Davison held off a dramatic challenge from best mate Jamie Whincup to grab the first Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Armor All pole position of his career ahead of tomorrow's 50th year of the iconic Mount Panorama classic.
With ominous clouds looming over Mt Panorama late in the day, Davison drove his Trading Post FPR Ford to the fastest time of 2:08.0693, edging out Championship leader Whincup by 3/100ths of a second, with a further 7/100ths of a second back to the SP Tools Ford of Shane van Gisbergen.
It sets up a final Bathurst battle with Ford versus Holden on the front of the grid in the final time it will only be the two marques contesting the classic race, with Nissan and AMG on the grid next year.
In the Armor All Shootout, Davison went to the top of the tree when he just edged out Van Gisbergen, but with three drivers still to run, the FPR driver felt it would not stand up, especially when Whincup was the last man standing.
"To tell the truth I thought Jamie's going to do a 7.8. He's been really fast in the final sector all weekend, so I thought I would prepare myself so I would not be let down," said Davison.
"It was a pleasant surprise. Bathurst shootout - it doesn't mean anything for tomorrow but you'd be kidding if you think it wasn't a thing we all want to achieve.
"It was tricky track conditions and a tricky lap. We gambled on the track being quicker than that. I pushed hard, I was a bit untidy but I think it was the same for everyone."
He said the reaction to his performance was heartening.
"The person who has been saying the shootout doesn't mean anything all week has been my engineer and I think I blew an ear-drum, he was screaming that loud. That is really cool to see the reaction, and the crowd here for a Saturday is phenomenal. To hear them roar was amazing."
Whincup started his lap as light rain began to fall but did not blame that for one of the closest shootout finishes in history.
"I was pretty disappointed where it finished up. The conditions were a lot different than they have been all weekend. I was still on a 7.8 coming out of the Chase and then made a bit of a meal of the last corner," Whincup said.
"I was sitting there with the rain on the windscreen and I could use that as an excuse. But I treated the lap as if it was dry and knew it was going to be full-drive. Mentally though it is hard work, sitting in the truck for three hours and then you have to jump in and do one screaming lap late in the afternoon.
"This is the best I have qualified at the mountain so I can't be too unhappy with that."
Kiwi Van Gisbergen, the youngest of the primary drivers in the field, was delighted with the improvement from the SP Tools car this week.
"It's a bit of a dream really. I never thought I would be top three at Bathurst in qualifying. I was pretty nervous before the start. To be third by one-tenth is pretty cool. I'm pretty happy for the guys. We weren't that good on Thursday and we have chipped away at it."
Van Gisbergen believes tyres will prove a major issue for tomorrow's 1000km race.
"There has been a few teams that have had problems with the left rears, us as well but I think we have fixed that. But it may be who keeps the tyres good on their car who does well. I think tomorrow is going to be really bad on tyres."
Davison believes there are a huge number of factors to take into consideration tomorrow.
"We all have different scenarios dependant on safety cars, weather and different strategies. We can go away and plan now we know where we are going to start," he said.
"The key is to think on your feet and be a step ahead of what is happening on the track and make the right call. We have to make sure we are quick at the end of the race."
Whincup said all the pointers are for a monumental battle.
"All the races this weekend have been crackers. I think everyone can feel just how massive this event is being the 50th year. There will be a lot of desperation out there."
But the three-time winner and current Championship leader warned that it will be far from a two-horse battle between himself and Davison.
"Let's not disrespect this race. The fastest guy does not always win. Someone out of the top-10 can win this race, dependant on what curve balls are thrown," said Davison.
" There's going to be plastic bags blowing across the track, there's going to be a bit of weather, you never know, a rock might roll down the hill ... everything usually does happen here at Bathurst, it is such a hard race to win. You have to go with the punches."
Davison's teammate Mark Winterbottom was fourth fastest from Lockwood Racing's Fabian Coulthard while reigning Bathurst champions Garth Tander and Nick Percat will start from sixth.
Tim Slade's Bathurst Shootout debut went well and he put the Lucky 7 Falcon seventh on the grid, while David Reynolds, Craig Lowndes and Steve Owen rounded out the top 10 to form the grid for tomorrow's big race.
All eyes now turn to tomorrow's big race with the Peter Brock Trophy on the line for the winners of the 50th year celebration race at the Mountain.
The Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 kicks off Sunday at 10.30 AEDT at Mount Panorama.
Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Race 21 starting top 10 positions
1 6 Trading Post FPR Ford Will Davison T10 2:08.0693*
2 1 TeamVodafone Jamie Whincup T10 2:08.1008
3 9 SP Tools Racing Shane Van Gisbergen T10 2:08.1791
4 5 Orrcon Steel FPR Ford Mark Winterbottom T10 2:08.1963
5 14 Lockwood Racing Fabian Coulthard T10 2:08.3385
6 2 Holden Racing Team Garth Tander T10 2:08.4755
7 47 Lucky 7 Racing Tim Slade T10 2:08.5995
8 52 The Bottle-O Racing Team David Reynolds T10 2:08.8866
9 888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes T10 2:09.0997
10 49 VIP Petfoods Steve Owen T10 2:10.0723
With ominous clouds looming over Mt Panorama late in the day, Davison drove his Trading Post FPR Ford to the fastest time of 2:08.0693, edging out Championship leader Whincup by 3/100ths of a second, with a further 7/100ths of a second back to the SP Tools Ford of Shane van Gisbergen.
It sets up a final Bathurst battle with Ford versus Holden on the front of the grid in the final time it will only be the two marques contesting the classic race, with Nissan and AMG on the grid next year.
In the Armor All Shootout, Davison went to the top of the tree when he just edged out Van Gisbergen, but with three drivers still to run, the FPR driver felt it would not stand up, especially when Whincup was the last man standing.
"To tell the truth I thought Jamie's going to do a 7.8. He's been really fast in the final sector all weekend, so I thought I would prepare myself so I would not be let down," said Davison.
"It was a pleasant surprise. Bathurst shootout - it doesn't mean anything for tomorrow but you'd be kidding if you think it wasn't a thing we all want to achieve.
"It was tricky track conditions and a tricky lap. We gambled on the track being quicker than that. I pushed hard, I was a bit untidy but I think it was the same for everyone."
He said the reaction to his performance was heartening.
"The person who has been saying the shootout doesn't mean anything all week has been my engineer and I think I blew an ear-drum, he was screaming that loud. That is really cool to see the reaction, and the crowd here for a Saturday is phenomenal. To hear them roar was amazing."
Whincup started his lap as light rain began to fall but did not blame that for one of the closest shootout finishes in history.
"I was pretty disappointed where it finished up. The conditions were a lot different than they have been all weekend. I was still on a 7.8 coming out of the Chase and then made a bit of a meal of the last corner," Whincup said.
"I was sitting there with the rain on the windscreen and I could use that as an excuse. But I treated the lap as if it was dry and knew it was going to be full-drive. Mentally though it is hard work, sitting in the truck for three hours and then you have to jump in and do one screaming lap late in the afternoon.
"This is the best I have qualified at the mountain so I can't be too unhappy with that."
Kiwi Van Gisbergen, the youngest of the primary drivers in the field, was delighted with the improvement from the SP Tools car this week.
"It's a bit of a dream really. I never thought I would be top three at Bathurst in qualifying. I was pretty nervous before the start. To be third by one-tenth is pretty cool. I'm pretty happy for the guys. We weren't that good on Thursday and we have chipped away at it."
Van Gisbergen believes tyres will prove a major issue for tomorrow's 1000km race.
"There has been a few teams that have had problems with the left rears, us as well but I think we have fixed that. But it may be who keeps the tyres good on their car who does well. I think tomorrow is going to be really bad on tyres."
Davison believes there are a huge number of factors to take into consideration tomorrow.
"We all have different scenarios dependant on safety cars, weather and different strategies. We can go away and plan now we know where we are going to start," he said.
"The key is to think on your feet and be a step ahead of what is happening on the track and make the right call. We have to make sure we are quick at the end of the race."
Whincup said all the pointers are for a monumental battle.
"All the races this weekend have been crackers. I think everyone can feel just how massive this event is being the 50th year. There will be a lot of desperation out there."
But the three-time winner and current Championship leader warned that it will be far from a two-horse battle between himself and Davison.
"Let's not disrespect this race. The fastest guy does not always win. Someone out of the top-10 can win this race, dependant on what curve balls are thrown," said Davison.
" There's going to be plastic bags blowing across the track, there's going to be a bit of weather, you never know, a rock might roll down the hill ... everything usually does happen here at Bathurst, it is such a hard race to win. You have to go with the punches."
Davison's teammate Mark Winterbottom was fourth fastest from Lockwood Racing's Fabian Coulthard while reigning Bathurst champions Garth Tander and Nick Percat will start from sixth.
Tim Slade's Bathurst Shootout debut went well and he put the Lucky 7 Falcon seventh on the grid, while David Reynolds, Craig Lowndes and Steve Owen rounded out the top 10 to form the grid for tomorrow's big race.
All eyes now turn to tomorrow's big race with the Peter Brock Trophy on the line for the winners of the 50th year celebration race at the Mountain.
The Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 kicks off Sunday at 10.30 AEDT at Mount Panorama.
Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Race 21 starting top 10 positions
1 6 Trading Post FPR Ford Will Davison T10 2:08.0693*
2 1 TeamVodafone Jamie Whincup T10 2:08.1008
3 9 SP Tools Racing Shane Van Gisbergen T10 2:08.1791
4 5 Orrcon Steel FPR Ford Mark Winterbottom T10 2:08.1963
5 14 Lockwood Racing Fabian Coulthard T10 2:08.3385
6 2 Holden Racing Team Garth Tander T10 2:08.4755
7 47 Lucky 7 Racing Tim Slade T10 2:08.5995
8 52 The Bottle-O Racing Team David Reynolds T10 2:08.8866
9 888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes T10 2:09.0997
10 49 VIP Petfoods Steve Owen T10 2:10.0723
Supercars Darwin Australia
LATEST HEADLINES: AUTO-RACING
-
INDYCAR: 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh To Pace The Indy 500
Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, will drive the… -
MILLER: Dinner With Legends
It’s become an annual event and, as my pal and longtime Indy… -
VIDEO: Dyson Tech Talk - Tires 101
The art of going fast: what kind of feedback does a driver want from… -
VIDEO: SPEEDing Through Hinchtown, Episode 2
Andretti Autosport IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe utilizes the… -
LE MANS: Driver Lineups For LM24 Finalized
Seats at Delta-ADR, Morand Racing, JMW Motorsport and others confirmed… -
PHOTOS: V8 Supercars COTA Gallery
UPDATED: View more than 150 photos from Austin as V8 Supercars Austin… -
GT: Black Falcon Mercedes Wins Rain-Soaked Nurburgring 24
Sean Edwards, Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Nicki Thiim… - More News
