Bailey Sweeny secures Bathurst Super2 pole sweep
Sweeny edges out teenager Ryan Tomsett in pole battle
Mixed weather conditions greeted Super2 field after early morning rain
Bailey Sweeny's breakout Super2 weekend has continued, securing a sweep of the Boost Mobile Pole Awards in mixed conditions at Mount Panorama.
The Blanchard Racing Team young gun, who rose to 10th in points with a career-best second place finish on Friday, was once again the class of the field, pipping teenager Ryan Tomsett in a surprise front row.
Early morning rain at Mount Panorama left damp track conditions for all 18 drivers at the beginning of the 20-minute session, however the sun was out, and a dry line beginning to emerge.
The vast majority of the field rolled out on wet tyres, save for Anderson Motorsport teammates Tomsett and Jonathon Webb, who switched to slick tyres before they took to the circuit.
After an out lap, most of the field dived back in for a dry tyre, with Sweeny the first to set a time on a wet tyre on a 2:17.2026s. Webb blew that marker out of the water on a 2:11.0267s, though times were some six seconds down on the provisional qualifying benchmark set by points leader Lochie Dalton on Friday.
Tomsett then dipped to a 2:09.4372s, but conditions were still very tricky, as demonstrated by both Brad Vaughan and Cody Burcher losing the rear and running down the Hell Corner escape road.
Half the field hadn't set a representative time through the opening half of the session, as track conditions and lap times continued to improve as the session wore on.
Ben Gomersall, recovering from a first corner incident with teammate Reuben Goodall in the opener, went to the top on a 2:09.0678s as a flurry of fast times came in.
Friday polesitter Sweeny went back to the top on a 2:07.4807s, before he and Tomsett engaged in a private duel of their own for the Boost Mobile Pole Award. For three consecutive laps the Ford pair traded fastest times, with Tomsett the first to dip into the 2:06's on a 2:06.3161s, after Sweeny had further dropped the marker to a 2:07.1604s.
Sweeny responded with a 2:06.2387s, to which Tomsett responded with a 2:06.0194s after the chequered flag was thrown. However, the BRT driver had the final say, and dropped into the 2:05's to steal pole at the death with a 2:05.7366s, clinching the pole sweep.
Once again, Sweeny outshone his points leading teammate, with Dalton only managing fourth on the grid after a late Nash Morris flyer secured the second generation star third on the grid.
Vaughan recovered from his early off to claim fifth, ahead of Campbell Logan, Bayley Hall, Webb, Gomersall, and Goodall.
The second and final race for the DUNLOP Super2 Series at Bathurst will begin at 4:10pm AEDT.
