The Volvo Polestar Racing duo of Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Pr+â-¬mat will start from the front row of the legendary Bathurst 1000 race after a challenging rain-hit qualifying session.
"That was the hardest and scariest lap in my life. You just didn't know where to brake and you didn't know where it was going to be slippery, especially with the new surface. It is a bloody good feeling though, hopefully Alex and me can make up for the problems last year in the race this year," said McLaughlin.
Rain hit the circuit just moments before the Top Ten Shootout session, meaning unknown territory in terms of car setup and grip level on the six-kilometre circuit. The duo will start second on the grid, an improvement of one position from last year.
"Scott did an impressive lap, Bathurst is pretty crazy in wet conditions. It is going to be a long race with 1000 kilometres and we don't know the weather forecast. But the car is good in dry and wet conditions, so I am looking forward to tomorrow," said Pr+â-¬mat.
David Wall and Chris Pither will line up 20th on the grid in the #34 Volvo S60 Polestar V8SC after a tough qualifying session where they did not get a competitive enough lap before the rain.
"A strange day at the mountain! The weather was a bit of drama for us unfortunately. I got one lap in which I thought was a reasonable bank. I thought I was going to get a second run on my tyres but didn't quite get there. We made a change to the car and got a feel for it in the first two corners and that was as far as we got before the rain. With that said, I think we got a good race car and albeit we are down in 20th, we can still have a good day from there," said Wall.
"I think it was a pretty good day and I felt pretty comfortable in the number 34 Volvo. It was a bit unfortunate with the weather during qualifying for David's lap. I know there is definitely a lot more speed there. It was just that the weather came before we got to bank the lap to get us further up. With that said, I think we are in a pretty good position going into tomorrow, it is a long race and I am excited to get out there for my first Bathurst 1000 with the team," said Pither.
The qualifying session was moved from Friday to Saturday due to a massive crash of Ford driver Chaz Mostert, also injuring a number of flag marshals. Mostert and one of the flag marshals were taken to hospital where they are reported to be recovering well. Volvo Polestar Racing would like to wish all involved a speedy recovery.
The 2015 Bathurst 1000 race starts tomorrow 11:00 local time and runs for 1000 kilometres or 161 laps.
Bathurst 1000 - V8 Supercars
Circuit: Mount Panorama Circuit
Length: 6213 m
Lap record (V8SC): 2:08.4651, Jamie Whincup, 2007
Results
Top Ten Shootout - Top 5
1 David Reynolds Ford Falcon 2:27.8201
2 Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 +1.1545
3 Jason Bright Holden Commodore +1.8805
4 Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore +1.9938
5 James Moffat Nissan Altima +2.1883
Qualifying
1 Fabian Coulthard Holden Commodore 2:06.1838
2 Shane Van Gisbergen Holden Commodore +0.2632
3 Tim Slade Holden Commodore +0.3225
4 Jamie Whincup Holden Commodore +0.3410
5 Scott Pye Ford Falcon +0.3818
+óGé¼-ª
7 Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 +0.5339
20 David Wall Volvo S60 +1.7926
Schedule - Sunday 11/10
08:25 Warm Up (20 min)
11:00 Race 25 (161 laps)
Championship Standings - Top 5
1 Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon 2215 points
2 Chaz Mostert Ford Falcon 2017 (-198)
3 David Reynolds Ford Falcon 1855 (-360)
4 Craig Lowndes Holden Commodore 1792 (-423)
5 Fabian Coulthard Holden Commodore 1694 (-521)
+óGé¼-ª
11 Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 1212 (-1003)
24 David Wall Volvo S60 774 (-1441)
TV Schedule
Australia: http://www.v8supercars.com.au/view/tv-schedule
Europe: http://www.motorstv.com
Sweden: http://www.viasat.se/sport/motor
International: http://www.v8supercars.com.au/v8live/schedule
-ENDS-
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Greg Bosnich
Director, PR and Corporate, Volvo Car Australia
T: +61 2 9020 1673
M: +61 419 620 995
E: greg.bosnich@volvocars.com
volvocars.com.au