Bathurst: Pirelli Pole Battle runners set after entertaining qualifying

Ricardo Feller has qualified on provisional pole at the Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour with a stunning lap, whilst Matt Campbell missed the cut for the Pirelli Pole Battle after making a mistake on his final flyer.

 

The 24-year-old Swiss driver starred in the second portion of qualifying, setting a blistering 2:01.8940s to sit on the provisional pole ahead of EMA Motorsport Porsche driver Laurin Heinrich, who also starred.

 

"It was a really good lap, the car feels great, we made some good work this weekend on the set-up," Feller said.

 

"I'm really, really happy, so let's see what the Shootout brings. But from our side, it's kind of odd.

 

"When [Feeney] drove it for the first time in practice, I was actually surprised, because the Audi is not the easiest car to drive.

 

"But you could feel he definitely has the talent, and he knows how to drive. I think we have a good line-up, let's see what the race brings.”

 

Qualifying 1

 

The bottom 50% from Practice 6 rolled out for the first half-hour portion of qualifying, with Pro contenders Chaz Mostert and Lucas Auer among the contenders, as well as Mostert's teammate Jaxon Evans in the Pro-Am Arise Racing GT Ferrari.

 

At the conclusion of the first runs in Qualifying 1, it was Mostert who was on top in the #26 Ferrari on a 2:02.9510s, ahead of Scott Andrews in the #44 Audi on a 2:02.9640s, and David Russell in the #47 Mercedes on a 2:02.9880s, the trio covered by 0.037s.

 

Mostert then improved slightly whilst running out of sync with a clear track, stretching the gap to just over a tenth of a second on a 2:02.8580s.

 

The #77 Craft-Bamboo entry of Auer didn't set a representative time in the opening runs of the session, electing to set his flying laps solely in the final 10 minutes of the session.

 

Evans pipped his teammate by seven hundredths of a second to jump to the top of the timing screens, before Mostert responded with the fastest time of the weekend at a 2:02.3800s.

 

Andrews immediately usurped that benchmark with a sensational effort in the Geyer Valmont Racing entry, setting a 2:02.2750s.

 

Auer then joined the party, setting a 2:02.1280s to put a tenth and a half on Andrews' benchmark, with Mostert throwing everything he could muster at the Austrian, the two-time Allan Simonsen Pole Award winner dropping into second on a 2:02.2240s.

 

The class pole for GT4 was decided in Qualifying 1, with Englishman Adam Christodoulou claiming pole in the #19 Mercedes on a 2:15.9900s.

 

Qualifying Two

 

The fastest 11 cars from Practice 6 headed out with Auer's 2:02.1280s the benchmark, and it was immediately apparent that the WRT BMW's had pace to burn.

 

Sheldon van der Linde went fifth on his run in the #32 BMW, before setting the first 2:01s lap of the weekend at a 2:01.9290s, before parking the BMW in an ominous sign to the rest of the Pirelli Pole Battle contingent.

 

The sister #46 car of Raffaele Marciello went to eighth on it's first lap, but was cruelled by coolant leak, with climbing engine temperatures consigning the fan-favourite entry to 12th on the grid.

 

Maro Engel looked set to become another casualty of Qualifying Two, as Mercedes-AMG Team GMR decided to run an off-sync strategy in an attempt to give the German clear track.

 

The 39-year-old made a mistake at Hell Corner on his first flying lap, and by the time he came around for his second lap, Engel came across Marciello and Luca Stolz on their out laps, baulking the #888.

 

Third time proved to be the charm for the two-time Allan Simonsen Pole Award winner, who set a 2:02.2230s at a crucial point to climb into third on the time sheets.

 

The final five minutes proved to be the fastest time in the session, as Feller set his eventual benchmark, as did Bathurst rookie Heinrich, who was only 0.0320s behind the Audi.

 

Cam Waters was the fourth and final driver to break into the 2:01's, with Scott Taylor Motorsport's superb Saturday pace converted into a 2:01.9850s.

 

Engel finished fifth after improving to a 2:02.0300s, with Stolz in the #75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes progressing to the Pirelli Pole Battle in sixth on a 2:02.1150s.

 

Those six drivers were the only six drivers from Qualifying Two to progress to the Pirelli Pole Battle, with the top four from Qualifying One filling the final four places in the top 10.

 

Matt Campbell threatened to burst into the top 10 with a last-gasp flyer in the #911 Porsche for Absolute Racing, however a mistake at The Chase put paid to a time that looked likely to surge him into the top 10. The reigning Bathurst 12 Hour winner will start from 11th tomorrow.

 

Lucas Auer (#77 Mercedes), Chaz Mostert (#26 Ferrari), Lee Holdsworth (#9 Audi), and Scott Andrews (#44 Audi) will complete the field in the Pirelli Pole Battle.

 

Holdsworth will claim Bronze Class pole as the only Bronze entry in the top 10, whilst Silver Class honours went to the #47 Mercedes of David Russell in 14th.

 

The Invitational GT2 KTM qualified in 19th with David Crampton at the helm, setting a 2:13.8670s.