Pretty takes Bathurst pole on Ute return

Nathan Pretty claimed Holden’s first Australian V8 Ute Racing Series pole position of 2017, pipping points leader Ryal Harris by just 0.15 seconds at Mount Panorama.

Pretty, making his first Utes appearance of the year, topped both practice sessions and then qualifying with a 2:31.7103s.

“It was a bit surprising to be honest, I didn’t expect to be as comfortable in the car as I was, it must have been the holiday I had in Thailand just before the weekend!” Pretty joked.

“I felt at home straight away and the car was competitive despite the fact we didn’t do any testing prior to the event.”

Craig Dontas qualified third ahead of title contender Kim Jane, who rued a couple of mistakes during the session.

“The car was good but the driver needs some work,” Jane admitted.

“I missed some gears and outbraked myself. I was able to put a reasonable lap together but it wasn’t quite good enough to get me onto the front row.”

Michael Sieders continued his strong V8 Utes debut, qualifying fifth in his first visit to Mount Panorama.

“Practice went well today and I learned a lot, which I was able to transfer into qualifying,” Sieders said.

“I know how hard Bathurst is to learn so I’m really stoked to be inside the top five.”

Jeremy Gray was sixth ahead of Marcus Zukanovic, who was much happier than in the previous round of the series at Queensland Raceway.

“At QR, we struggled all weekend with a variety of issues including brakes and electrical problems, but thankfully they all seem to be resolved,” the 2006 Utes Champion said.

Scott Cameron was eighth ahead of Aaron Cameron (no relation) with Blake Scibberas rounding out the top 10 in the first of the Western Sydney Motorsport entries.

Race 1 of the V8 Utes will be held at 4:45pm on Friday of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.