Bates delivers sensational Bathurst Shootout upset

Zach Bates has proven his provisional Bathurst pole on Friday was no fluke.

The 22-year-old Canberran has stunned the motorsport world to claim pole position for the 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000, flying to a 2:04.2062s to deny Brodie Kostecki a historic four-peat of Bathurst poles.

In just his second Bathurst start, Bates will start from pole for the first time in his young Supercars career, with Matt Stone Racing also claiming its first ever Bathurst pole.

Practice 6 pacesetter James Golding was the first car out in the Shootout, and was pushing the limits early as he clipped the inside wall at The Cutting.

Fluid spilled in the preceding Super2 race gave Golding a big challenge, setting a 2:05.3028s for the remaining nine cars to chase, leaving nothing on the table.

2025 Bathurst winner Matt Payne was next up, and he looked set to go fastest of all as he was up over the course of the first two sectors. However, despite Golding going slightly wide of the apex at The Chase, Payne lost time in the final sector, falling just 0.0489s shy of Golding's benchmark.

Jayden Ojeda started his first ever Bathurst Top Ten Shootout with several stabs of oversteer out of Hell Corner, and more oversteer out of The Cutting. Things got even hairier with a wild ride through The Esses, including missing the apex at The Dipper, yet it all came together to knock Golding off with a 2:05.1558s.

Matt Stone Racing's first runner was Jack Le Brocq, and it was a much calmer lap in comparison to Ojeda's wild run around Mount Panorama. However, despite being 0.122s down to the first sector, Le Brocq's run from Forrest's Elbow to the timing line was outstanding, Le Brocq being the first into the 2:04's on a 2:04.9854s.

David Reynolds looked set to entrench himself deep in the 2:04's, besting Le Brocq's first sector by more than two tenths of a second. However, the 2017 Bathurst winner admitted that he was too greedy in the final sector, dropping into third, almost two tenths down on Le Brocq's marker.

Brodie Kostecki was next up, in his quest to become the first ever driver to secure four straight Bathurst poles, and he delivered the usual Kostecki magic. His run across the top of the Mountain was spectacular, putting almost half a second on Le Brocq, with his final time a superb 2:04.4912s, some 0.4942s clear of the chasing pack.

Will Brown was next up to try and bump off his good mate, but his lap got off to a shaky start with a big slide over the exit kerb at Hell Corner. It was over before it had really begun for Brown, down more than three tenths in the first sector alone, and another massive moment further sealed his fate, his effort only good enough for third behind Kostecki and Le Brocq, 0.6286s off the pace.

Cooper Murray did almost everything perfectly as he tried to bump off Kostecki, with a couple of moments dipping wheels into the dirt on the exit of Hell and Murray's Corners. Murray was all but line ball through the opening two sectors, within a tenth of a second, but faded to be 0.2058s down, a fine effort to second.

Anton De Pasquale's splits looked even better than Murray's, up by 0.052s to the first sector, and 0.037s to the end of the second sector over the top of the Mountain. However, the last sector wasn't quite there, De Pasquale ending up 0.038s down on Kostecki, leaving a rookie as the only man standing between the 2024 Bathurst winner and history.

Bates wouldn't let him have it however, putting a tenth of a second on Kostecki to the first sector, and then flying across the top of the Mountain, all but sealing the deal with a two-tenth gap. Sure enough, the 2024 Super2 champion laid down the fastest third sector of the Shootout as well, writing one of the great Bathurst upset stories.

Behind Bates and Kostecki were De Pasquale, Murray, Le Brocq, Brown, Ojeda, Reynolds, Golding, and Payne.

Sunday race day begins with the Warm Up at 8:30am AEDT, before the 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 at 11:30am.