ZAK Best will start the opening Dunlop Series race at the Repco Bathurst 1000 despite a crash right at the end of qualifying.
With the chequered flag already out, the Tickford Racing pilot slid wide at the exit of the Chase on his final qualifying run and slapped the #78 Falcon against the wall on the left hand side.
The incident could prove costly over the course of the remainder of the weekend; while the damage didn’t look significant, Best had one of his race sets of tyres fitted at the time of the crash.
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It had already been an eventful session for Best, having brushed the wall at Sulman Park on the lap prior to the 2m05.5633s effort that secured pole.
Tyler Everingham qualified second, just 0.2118s shy of Best, despite a severe front bumper vibration during the session.
Cameron Hill and Matt Payne locked out the second row ahead of championship leader Declan Fraser in fifth, with Thursday fast man Matt McLean sixth.
Kai Allen rebounded from his Practice 1 dramas to secure pole position among the Super3 Series runners, his eighth of the season equalling the category record and 3.3 seconds faster than the previous qualifying record.
Unlike Thursday’s practice sessions, Friday morning’s two-part qualifying session unfolded without interruption, with a brief off-track moment for Super3 runner Steven Page at the Chase the only significant incident other than Best’s.
The first of two Dunlop Series races for the weekend gets underway at 3:10pm AEDT.
RESULTS: Qualifying for Race 1, Dunlop Series
| Pos | No. | Drivers | Car | Class | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78 | Zak Best | Ford Falcon FG X | DS2 | 2m05.5633s |
| 2 | 27 | Tyler Everingham | Nissan Altima | DS2 | +0.2118s |
| 3 | 111 | Cameron Hill | Holden Commodore VF | DS2 | +0.7874s |
| 4 | 10 | Matt Payne | Nissan Altima | DS2 | +1.0909s |
| 5 | 777 | Declan Fraser | Holden Commodore VF | DS2 | +1.1318s |
| 6 | 54 | Matt McLean | Holden Commodore VF | DS2 | +1.2682s |
| 7 | 49 | Jay Hanson | Holden Commodore VF | DS2 | +1.6570s |
| 8 | 6 | Angelo Mouzouris | Nissan Altima | DS2 | +1.7357s |
| 9 | 30 | Aaron Seton | Holden Commodore VF | DS2 | +1.8106s |
| 10 | 26 | Kai Allen | Holden Commodore VE | DS3 | +1.8901s |
| 11 | 38 | Cameron Crick | Holden Commodore VF | DS2 | +2.0362s |
| 12 | 3 | Thomas Maxwell | Nissan Altima | DS2 | +2.0942s |
| 13 | 999 | Reef McCarthy | Holden Commodore VF | DS2 | +2.5161s |
| 14 | 11 | Zane Morse | Holden Commodore VF | DS2 | +2.6200s |
| 15 | 58 | Ryal Harris | Holden Commodore VF | DS2 | +2.7383s |
| 16 | 5 | Brad Vaughan | Ford Falcon FG | DS3 | +3.4354s |
| 17 | 67 | Nash Morris | Ford Falcon FG X | DS2 | +3.5307s |
| 18 | 8 | Elly Morrow | Holden Commodore VF | DS2 | +5.4219s |
| 19 | 35 | Jason Gomersall | Ford Falcon FG | DS3 | +6.6110s |
| 20 | 46 | Jarred Danaher | Ford Falcon FG | DS3 | +7.4594s |
| 21 | 24 | David Murphy | Ford Falcon FG | DS3 | +7.5575s |
| 22 | 4 | Tony Auddino | Ford Falcon BF | DS3 | +7.9509s |
| 23 | 23 | Ray Hislop | Ford Falcon FG | DS3 | +8.0857s |
| 24 | 7 | Jim Pollicina | Holden Commodore VE | DS3 | +8.5972s |
| 25 | 2 | Steven Page | Holden Commodore VE II | DS3 | +8.6742s |
| 26 | 76 | Garry Hills | Holden Commodore VE II | DS3 | +10.5249s |
| 27 | 219 | James Masterton | Holden Commodore VE | DS3 | +12.1070s |
| 28 | 96 | Gary Collins | Holden Commodore VE II | DS3 | +12.4580s |
| 29 | 25 | Paul Boschert | Holden Commodore VE | DS3 | NTR |
