Reynolds locks in Bathurst pole

David Reynolds has earned his first ever ARMOR ALL Pole Position at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in trying conditions.

Rain interrupted qualifying this morning and a downpour hit right before the Top 10 Shootout kicked off at Mount Panorama.

James Moffat was first out on track and slipped and slid around the Mountain. Lee Holdsworth followed, but Reynolds - out third - clocked a number that was sure to be a challenge with his 2min27.8201.

Scott McLaughlin's Volvo will start alongside the Bottle-O Falcon on the front row, though he was down by 1.15sec on his hot lap.

While Jason Bright was out on-track, the rain came down again, making it even tougher for those who had been fastest this morning.

Six-time champ Jamie Whincup, wet weather specialist Shane van Gisbergen and consistent fast man Fabian Coulthard put gutsy laps together but ultimately failed to challenge for P1 given the conditions.

For Reynolds, it's a bright spot in what has been a controversial and difficult week for him and his team.

Often seen as the class clown, the 30-year old was fined $25,000 by V8 Supercars for distasteful comments about an all-female entry, and yesterday saw his Prodrive teammate Chaz Mostert suffer in a huge accident that called off the qualifying session.

Last year's Bathurst 1000 was one that got away when he and co-driver Dean Canto had an alternator failure when in a promising position for the win, after clawing back from the rear of the grid.

While he admits he may have been fortunate to go out at the right time, he kept it clean and quick in his Ford Falcon FG X.

"It's pretty exciting - I might've gotten lucky with the conditions but I tried to put a good lap in - safe and fast," Reynolds said.

Co-driver Canto was equally thrilled to see the car on the front row.

"Last year we started at the opposite end of the field - David did a great job, finally a bit of luck," Canto said.

All 10 cars kept it clean in the tricky conditions with Bright and Holdsworth starting on the second row, Moffat and van Gisbergen behind, Scott Pye and Jamie Whincup seventh and eighth, and Coulthard and Tim Slade completing the top 10.

The rest of the grid's starting order was set this morning in qualifying with Championship contending stars Mark Winterbottom and Craig Lowndes off the pace, to start in 14th and 15th respectively.

Click here for full ARMOR ALL Top 10 Shootout results.