Bathurst 1000 in Tickford’s crosshairs
October 2, 2022
Water wins day, Waters wins pole for Bathurst 1000
October 8, 2022
TICKFORD RACING – BATHURST 1000 FRIDAY REPORT
7 October, 2022
Coming through late in soaking conditions on Friday afternoon, Cam Waters (No. 6 Monster Energy Ford Mustang) took provisional pole for the Bathurst 1000. Managing a changing track that began to dry during the session before showers returned towards the end, Waters claimed the top spot in the 40-minute hit out, and will be the last car to take to the track in Saturday’s Top Ten Shootout, which will determine the starting order of the first five rows for Sunday’s Great Race.
James Courtney (No. 5 Snowy River Caravans Ford Mustang) also cracked the 10 on Friday, qualifying eighth in the wet session to secure his ninth career appearance in the Bathurst Top Ten Shootout.
A Shootout berth appeared to be on the cards for Thomas Randle (No. 55 Castrol Racing Ford Mustang) late in the session, but a small mistake at the Chase saw the rookie run wide in the final corners, scuppering his fast lap. Ultimately qualifying 15th, Randle and co-driver Zak Best will start Sunday’s race from mid pack, but are optimistic about their race package for the 161-lap contest.
Halfway through Friday’s qualifying session Jake Kostecki (No. 56 Tradie Ford Mustang) was a star in the wet, routinely putting his car in the top few spots as the track began to dry. However the changing conditions went away from the 22-year old’s strengths, and Kostecki was unable to string a lap together late in the session to get into the top 10, ultimately qualifying 17th for his third Bathurst 1000.
On-track action at the Bathurst 1000 resumes Saturday with Practice 5 for co-drivers only at 10:20 a.m. AEDT, followed by Practice 6 at 1:00 p.m. before the famed Top Ten Shootout begins at 5:05 p.m.
DRIVERS’ VIEW
No. 5 Snowy River Caravans Ford Mustang
James Courtney
Practice 3: 2m05.10s, 13th
Practice 4: 2m31.77s, 3rd
Race 30 Quali: 2m24.65s, 8th
“It was a crazy old session this afternoon. Fortunately we got a little bit of a dress rehearsal in the second practice today to dial in our wet set up, but with the way the track and conditions changed it was pretty nonstop out there. It was wild with the times falling every single lap, having to continually improve your time, but it was great to get P8 in the end and make the Shootout. It’s always special making the Shootout here. Having the track to yourself, seeing the fans on the hill, it’s really cool, so I’m looking forward to getting out and having a crack tomorrow and hopefully putting the Snowy River Mustang up the front of the field.”
No. 6 Monster Energy Ford Mustang
Cam Waters
Practice 3: 2m04.41s, 2nd
Practice 4: 2m32.56s, 12th
Race 30 Quali: 2m23.62s, 1st
“It’s absolutely awesome to get provisional pole, credit to the team, we’ve worked pretty hard on the car and obviously the conditions have been pretty tricky, so it’s nice to come out of today on top. It was pretty fun out there, obviously it was pretty wet but it was gradually getting quicker and quicker, so we kept going faster and faster. The rain came back a bit toward the end and the pace kind of dropped off, but it’s cool to keep P1 and be the last one out tomorrow. That said, it’s only provisional pole. There’s still a Shootout tomorrow – which is always awesome to be a part of – and obviously a long race on Sunday, plenty to play for, but we’ll be ready for it.”
No. 55 Castrol Racing Ford Mustang
Thomas Randle
Practice 3: 2m04.97s, 9th
Practice 4: 2m33.56s, 18th
Race 30 Quali: 2m25.15s, 15th
“Tough way to end today, we were right in or near the 10 almost all of qualifying which was good, but I just made a tiny mistake on my last lap that kept us from making the Shootout. I did personal best first and second sectors, and we were tracking comfortably in the top 10, and I just got it wrong at the Chase and ran off the track which killed the lap. I was really hoping we could get into the Shootout and get this awesome place to myself for a lap tomorrow, I’m pretty frustrated, but the Castrol Racing Ford Mustang has some good speed. I know Zak and I will be ready to move forward from P15 on Sunday, so we’ll put our focus on that and give it our all when the lights go out.”
No. 56 Tradie Ford Mustang
Jake Kostecki
Practice 3: 2m05.59s, 19th
Practice 4: 2m32.68s, 13th
Race 30 Quali: 2m25.47s, 17th
“It was a pretty disappointing end to qualifying for us and the Tradie Racing crew. We were actually pretty speedy in the first half of the session which was awesome, I felt confident with the car and we were pretty comfortably in that top five or six, so it was looking pretty good for the Shootout. Unfortunately it just went away from us towards the end, we put a new set of tyres on and for whatever reason I couldn’t get them to switch on like the first set. It’s disappointing, but nice to show some good pace after a tricky start to the weekend. We’ll tune the car up tomorrow and hopefully have a strong march forward in the race on Sunday.”
Tim Edwards, Team Principal
“Cam of course did an awesome job, he was in that lead group the whole afternoon and got the lap when it counted which was great to see, and good from JC as well, he was in the hunt the whole session and it’s good to see him in the 10. For a while it looked like Thomas and Jake were on for the Shootout as well, so while it was unfortunate that it got away from them we showed some front running speed in all our cars which is positive. Obviously we’re not getting ahead of ourselves, but it’s always nice to end the day on top here. We’ll build on that momentum heading into tomorrow, and set ourselves up the best way we can for the big race on Sunday.”
DUNLOP SUPER2 SERIES
Following up his round win at the Sandown SuperSprint in August, Zak Best continued his leading form by taking pole and the race win in Race 9 of the Dunlop Super2 Series season. It is Best’s second win of the 2022 season, and moves the 20-year old within 75-points of the Super2 championship lead after nine of 12 races. Best’s pole in the morning came in bizarre circumstances, where the third year Super2 driver found the wall after he had posted the would-be pole-winning lap, but fortunately the issue did not affect his race, which was run for the most part behind the Safety Car due to treacherous conditions on track.
The Dunlop Super2 Series returns to action on Saturday with Race 10 qualifying at 8:50 a.m. AEDT, followed by Race 10 at 4:00 p.m.
No. 78 Best Leisure Industries Ford Falcon FG X
Zak Best
Race 9 Quali: 2m05.56s, 1st
Race 9 Finish: 1st
“It wasn’t the most straightforward to get it, but obviously it’s awesome to get the pole and the race win today. It was always going to be important to start up front, so it was great to get pole. I hated hitting the wall at the end and giving the boys more work than they should’ve had, but they did an awesome job fixing it up, and fortunately we just held position in the race and picked up the win. It’s looking like another wet day tomorrow, so hopefully we can have another strong run, keep it clean, and finish the weekend strong.”
Ends.
