Zach Bates thrilled with first career Supercars podium
Bates/Aaron Seton starred through fastest Bathurst 1000 in history
22-year-old battled with eventual winner Brodie Kostecki late
For a brief moment on Sunday afternoon at Bathurst, it looked as though a breakout weekend for Matt Stone Racing rookie Zach Bates would end with no silverware to show.
It would've been a shattering end to a near faultless weekend for the #10 Bendix Camaro, that had reset the Gen3 qualifying record on Friday and ended the Shootout chokehold of Brodie Kostecki on Saturday.
However, Sunday was arguably the most impressive day of the lot, Bates and co-driver Aaron Seton putting in by far the most complete performances of their young Supercars careers to remain in contention throughout a relentless race.
Despite Kostecki muscling his way by Bates as they started the penultimate lap, with Will Brown also pouncing, there was final twist in the tail as Anton De Pasquale dropped out with an empty fuel tank on the very last lap.
Third marked maiden career podiums for both drivers, with 2024 Super2 champion Bates over the moon to star on the biggest stage, and declaring a real sense of pride.
"I am, I am. The woulda, coulda, shoulda thoughts do creep in, but at the end of the day it's reality," said Bates on the Equip Super Cool Down Lap, when asked if he was at peace with the result.
"So if you'd have told me at the start of the week that we would be on the podium, and got pole, I would've told you to... I can't say on here.
"It's also cool to share the podium with Will. I said that up in the press conference, the guy that's helped me so much.
"And Aaron did an unbelievable job, so kudos to him. He stepped it up, and put it in a position for me to be able to do what I did."
If it wasn't for the late Safety Car, Bates would likely have been in the box seat when De Pasquale ran out of fuel, with the Canberran hustling to put pressure on the #18 Chevrolet.
That ultimately proved something of an undoing, having burned through the best of his last set of tyres with Kostecki on much fresher boots. Regardless, Bates insisted there were no regrets.
"I don't think I'd change too much, probably just not miss the apex at The Chase," Bates said of the closing stages in the post-race press conference.
"Maybe if I got a run off there, but to be honest it was gonna happen. [Kostecki] had been so fast all day, and had a tyre in hand. I had a brief look at the timing and he did a six-something, he was lightning.
I didn't think Anton was that in trouble from what I had been told, but it didn't matter anyway."
It was a full stop on an emotional weekend for the entire Bates family, with Zach's father Rick, uncle Neal, and older Harry and Lewis all in attendance, just over 12 months on from the passing of Zach's mother Ali.
The younger of the Bates' quipped that his father wouldn't be letting him off easy on the Cool Down Lap, declaring that the former rally ace and Bathurst competitor would be offering some words of wisdom through the week.
"We've got a drive day on Wednesday in Melbourne or something, so I'm sure he'll be in there again telling me how to drive and what I should've done to win," Zach said.
"It was cool also, Neal started on pole here 26 years ago with Wayne Gardner."
