Bathurst 12 Hour: Vilander puts Ferrari on provisional pole

The majority of the quick times came in the 20-minute GT3-only session right after regular qualifying, flying Finn Vilander jumping a gaggle of BMWs to take P1 with a 2m02.219s – comfortably the fastest time of the weekend so far.

“[I’m] really happy,” Vilander told the official broadcast. “Now we will see what we can do and what we want to do for the Shootout We’re looking quite good for the race. I felt I had a good run.”

Chaz Mostert will run second last in the Shootout, backing up a 2m02.835s early in the 20-minute session with a 2m02.408s at the end to grab second, and best of the Am cars, in the MARC GT BMW M6 GT3. There was another BMW in third, Marco Wittmann with a 2m02.637s in the Team SRM M6.

Best of the Pro-Am cars was the #12 Competition Motorsports Porsche, Supercar-bound Matt Campbell setting a 2m02.864s to edge out Timo Glock in the #7 SRM BMW. Former F1 driver Glock had an exciting end to the session, first surviving a huge, high-speed moment at Skyline before almost being collected by the lead Nissan in the dying seconds, as the GT-R desperately scrambled for a spot in the Top 10.

The #8 Bentley booked a Shootout spot with a 2m03.084s, while Earl Bamber made it two Porsches in the Top 10 with a 2m03.085s in the factory-backed Walkinshaw car. George Miedecke out his family-run Aston Martin in the Shootout with the ninth best time, ahead of the #59 Tekno McLaren, which didn’t actually run in the final 20-minute session after Ben Barnicoat spun at the exit of The Chase at the end of the first hour-long qualifying.

There were some big names that missed out on a Shootout spot, including reigning winners the #1 Tekno McLaren which finished up 11th.

The kerfuffle with Glock also proved costly for the #23 Nissan, Alex Buncombe just 12th fastest in the factory GT-R.

Mercedes also missed out on a Shootout spot, with the brand’s best hope Shane van Gisbergen running wide at the last corner while on a crucial flying lap in the final few seconds. The #22 HTP Motorsport AMG will start way down in 18th tomorrow.

As expected, the #4 Grove Porsche took pole position for Group B. After the car topped every single practice session, Ben Barker banked a 2m08.532s to ensure the Cup Car-spec Porsche will lead the class away tomorrow morning. The Class C pole went to the #48 M Motorsport KTM thanks to Glen Wood’s 2m17.713s, while Ben Schoots put the #65 Daytona Viper on top in the Invitational class.