300km/h barrier cracked in Bathurst qualifying

Data has revealed the 300km/h barrier has finally been breached, courtesy of Shane van Gisbergen, at Mount Panorama.

Van Gisbergen’s #97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro was recorded by Supercars GPS data at 300.5km/h during ARMOR ALL Qualifying on Friday afternoon.

The reigning champion hit the magic number down the 1.9km Conrod Straight on the lap that delivered him a Top Ten Shootout berth.

It marks the first time a Supercar has officially hit the 300km/h mark.

The official speed trap is positioned just short of the right-hand kink into The Chase, which is the fastest corner in world touring car racing.

This weekend, the new Gen3 Supercars are running a 0.931 drive ratio, and despite the downforce reduction, dipped into the 2:04s in qualifying.

The Supercars field is, however, running the Dunlop Soft tyre compound at Mount Panorama for the first time, which has allowed for more grip across the top of the Mountain.

The new cars had been tipped to crack 300km/h, with the older cars topping out in the 290s in recent years. The drop gear ratio was changed in 2015, but still, the 300km/h mark went begging.

Van Gisbergen, speaking during Saturday morning practice, added he had scored a tow from James Courtney’s #5 Snowy Rivers Caravans Ford on his lap.

“Thanks to James Courtney, I just got a tow off him,” said the two-time Bathurst winner, who qualified seventh on Friday afternoon.

“We didn’t really have the pace, but he just pulled me along, so we snuck in. We’ve prioritised the race car, which made us not very good in qualifying.”

Van Gisbergen’s co-driver Richie Stanaway topped final Additional Driver practice on Saturday morning.

The ARMOR ALL Top Ten Shootout will be held at 5:05pm AEDT, with van Gisbergen fourth man out in the one-lap dash.

Championship leader Brodie Kostecki claimed provisional pole aboard his #99 Coca-Cola Camaro. Six Fords and four Chevrolets will compete for pole.