Payne fastest in dramatic Bathurst qualifying

Matt Payne has qualified as the fastest driver in a dramatic qualifying session at Bathurst that featured two red flags following heavy crashes for David Reynolds and Will Davison.

The second crash, atop the mountain, brought an end to the session, where a number of drivers were on track to improve their times, including Broc Feeney, who appeared just corners away from bettering Payne’s effort.

The Kiwi’s 2:05.6452 stood as the fastest time and was just 0.006 seconds to the good of second fastest qualifier Cam Waters, who in turn was 0.053 seconds clear of Feeney.

Brodie Kostecki survived contact with the wall which damaged both right wheels and returned to the track to qualify fourth, with his late effort only 00.0194 off Payne’s time.

Championship leader Will Brown relied on a late lap to qualify for the Top 10 Shootout, as did Andre Heimgartner, who progress in fifth and seventh, respectively.

Title contender Chaz Mostert split the pair, with his 2:05.7888 just 0.0225 behind his rival.

Jack Le Brocq and Anton De Pasquale qualified eighth and ninth, ahead of Richie Stanaway, who makes for three Kiwis in the top ten.

Rookie Ryan Wood qualified 14th, one place ahead of Jaxon Evans, who makes for five Kiwis in the top 15.

Matt Stone Racing’s Cameron Hill and Nick Percat qualified 12th and 13th, respectively, with the team having done well to repair the cars which were damaged in separate incidents in Practice 3 this morning.

Percat was one of the first on scene to Davison’s wrecked Mustang at The Dipper late in qualifying and pulled alongside to help car #17’s driver.

As it happened

Kostecki’s first flyer was a 2:06.1542, over half a second quicker than the field. After 10 minutes, five other drivers had joined the reigning champion in setting sub 2m 07s times, including Feeney, Le Brocq, Reynolds, Stanaway, and Payne.

Stanaway climbed to second with his fifth lap, but was quickly eclipsed by his teammate, but the Kiwi duo still sat three-tenths behind Kostecki’s early benchmark.

The pace continued to ramp up, and Waters was the first to better the reigning champion, with his 2:06.0204 moving to the top moments before a red flag was required at the 17-minute mark.

The intervention came as a result for a heavy crash for David Reynolds atop the mountain.

Reynolds lost the rear of the #20 Camaro as he came through Skyline and veered left though The Esses before making head-on contact with the wall on approach to The Dipper. He was unhurt in the incident.

At the time, the top ten stood as Waters, Kostecki, Brown, De Pasquale, Payne, Le Brocq, Stanaway, Golding, Feeney, and Evans. Reynolds had been in the top ten, but had his best lap time deleted for causing a red flag.

The pace continued to ramp up following a 15-minute delay, with Feeney becoming the first competitor of the weekend to go under 2m06s with a 2:05.7745 flyer, which was a quarter of a second faster than Waters.

Love and Kostecki had brushes with the wall in the final 15 minutes, with the latter’s contact damaging both right wheels, forcing him to pit lane.

Payne and Stanaway continued to improve to cement spots in the top five in the final 10 minutes, while Wood jumped to ninth and Heimgartner flirted with the cusp of the top 10, in 11th, one place to the good of Brown.

Pit lane burst to life inside the final 10 minutes, with a flurry of activity preparing cars for the final flyers. All 26 cars took to the track, including Kostecki, whose Camaro was far from perfect following his contact with the wall.

Brown climbed to second on his final lap, before Waters reset the benchmark at 2:05.6512, which was quickly eclipsed by Payne’s 2:05.6452, a lap just 0.006 seconds better than the Monster Energy Mustang.

Feeney looked on track to better this time on his final run, but had his lap cut short just corners from the finish line when a second red flag was required.

The disruption came as a result of a heavy crash for Davison, who lost the rear of the #17 Mustang through the Esses at the same place where Reynolds crashed.

Davison clipped the inside wall at the dipper, before rebounding hard, side-on into the outside wall.

Percat was one of the first on scene and pulled alongside the severely damaged DJR car to offer his assistance. Davison was visibly winded from the crash and has been taken to the on-site medical centre for a check up.

The crash brought an early end to the session, potentially saving Stanaway, who was in 10th, from elimination, with a number of cars behind set to improve on their times.

Payne’s earlier effort stood at the top from Waters, Feeney, and Kostecki for the top four to be split by less than 0.02 seconds.

The other drivers to progress include Brown, Mostert, Heimgartner, Le Brocq, De Pasquale, and Stanaway, respectively.

Golding was unlucky in 11th, just 0.0529 seconds off Stanaway’s best effort.

Supercars return for the practice sessions on Saturday, the first for co-drivers at 12.05 pm NZST and the second for all drivers at 3.10 pm, before the Top 10 Shootout at 7.05 pm.

The 2024 Bathurst 1000 begins at 1.30 pm NZST on Sunday and will be shown live on Sky Sport.

2024 Bathurst 1000 Qualifying Results