Holdsworth 'absolutely stoked' with P2
Lee Holdsworth was “absolutely stoked” to snag second in Friday qualifying in Bathurst.
Holdsworth will be the ninth man out in Saturday’s ARMOR ALL Top Ten Shootout.
The reigning Bathurst champion braved the treacherous conditions to secure a Shootout berth.
However, he was shocked to be so high up.
It comes in Holdsworth’s final Bathurst as a full-time driver, given he’ll retire at season’s end.
“I’m absolutely stoked. To even just make the top ten was my aim,” said Holdsworth, who is sharing with rookie Matt Payne.
“But to be P2 in seriously tricky conditions makes me feel over the moon.
“It’s my last Bathurst as a full time driver… I get that one lap at glory tomorrow and I’m really going to lap it up.”
Holdsworth will turn his attention to securing a top co-drive for 2023 after the season.
That could be back at Walkinshaw Andretti United, with whom he scored victory in 2021.
The 39-year-old missed out on a second provisional Bathurst pole in three years to Cam Waters.
Holdsworth’s standout performance was overshadowed by the controversial Shane van Gisbergen-Macauley Jones incident.
The veteran has never scored a Bathurst pole, but is confident of his chances should the rain return on Saturday afternoon.
“As the track got better It was confidence inspiring knowing where I could feel the grip so I could push harder,” he said.
"I was really enjoying myself out there and I took a lot of risks.
“We flew under the radar before qualifying because we had some issues with the windscreen fogging up in Practice 4.
“If it’s wet in the shootout I’m very confident but I’d love to have a dry lap to have a serious crack around here one last time. Bring it on."
Co-drivers will tackle Practice 5 at 10:20am local time on Saturday morning.
Saturday's Shootout will commence at 5:05pm local time.
