Zach Bates claims stunning provisional Bathurst pole
Bates becomes the first driver to set a 2:03s in a Gen3 car at Bathurst
Broc Feeney headlines long list of shock Shootout omissions
Canberra-born rising star Zach Bates has claimed a stunning provisional Boost Mobile Pole for the 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000, in one of the more remarkable upsets in Great Race history.
Bates, who entered the weekend 18th in points in his rookie Supercars season with Matt Stone Racing, blazed to the only sub-2:04s lap in the session, becoming the first driver to break into the 2:03 range in the Gen3 era.
Bates' provisional pole time of a 2:03.9376s was just over a tenth of a second clear of Team 18 star Anton De Pasquale, with Erebus Motorsport driver Cooper Murray completing an all-Chevrolet top three.
It was double delight for MSR, with veteran Jack Le Brocq securing his berth to Saturday's Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout in a banner day for the Queensland squad.
Will Brown, Brodie Kostecki, David Reynolds, Le Brocq, Jayden Ojeda, Matt Payne and James Golding rounded out the 10, with the likes of Kai Allen, Broc Feeney, Cam Waters and Chaz Mostert eliminated.
Kostecki, with a fresh Ford V8 under the hood of the #17 Ford, immediately impressed with a 2:04.7485s straight out of the gate, the only driver into the 2:04's in the first run.
Chevrolet started to come to the fore in the second run, with De Pasquale setting a 2:04.6458s, which was quickly beaten by Bates on a 2:04.4670s, before Murray blazed to a 2:04.4670s.
Ojeda made it an all-Chevrolet top four early, with Mostert rounding out the top five in the #1 Toyota, before Practice 4 pacesetter Golding jumped to third, though the better part of half a second off Murray.
The Fords of Brown, Payne, and Allen all leapt up into the top six on their third runs, with Brown leading the way in second, just over a tenth behind Murray, who bowled through The Esses shortcut on his third run after setting the fastest first sector to date.
De Pasquale went faster again on a 2:04.0538s, before Bates starred on the penultimate run, setting what was at that stage the fastest ever Gen3 lap of Mount Panorama on a 2:04.0020s.
With five minutes remaining, the whole field rolled out for their final runs, with several big names needing to lift themselves into the top 10.
Allen was 11th, Feeney 12th, 15th, while Waters was all at sea with a lack of grip back in 17th, with Tickford teammate Thomas Randle also on the outside looking in back in 13th.
All five of those drivers would fail to progress to the Shootout, with Allen, Feeney, and Randle maintaining status quo, while Waters could only rise to 14th, with Mostert dropping back to 16th.
Brown would wind up as the top Ford in fourth ahead of Kostecki, with Reynolds making it two Team 18 Camaros in the Shootout in sixth, and Le Brocq, Ojeda, Payne, and Golding rounding out the top 10.
Saturday's Supercars action begins with Practice 5 for co-drivers at 10:05am local time.
