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Zach Bates secured pole position for the Bathurst 1000 on Saturday by winning the Top 10 Shootout at Mount Panorama, becoming the first rookie since 2001 to achieve this feat. In a dramatic conclusion, Bates overcame Brodie Kostecki’s lead time of 0.4942 seconds with a faster lap, finishing just 0.2850 seconds ahead. This result denied Kostecki from potentially tying legendary drivers Peter Brock and Allan Moffat for three successive poles.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Supercars rookie Zach Bates stunned the racing world by securing pole position for the Bathurst 1000, becoming the first rookie since 2001 to achieve this feat. On Saturday, he outperformed Brodie Kostecki, who was aiming to claim four consecutive poles—a record not achieved by any driver in history. In the crucial Top 10 Shootout qualifying round, Bates edged ahead of Kostecki with a time of 2:04.2062, beating Kostecki's best lap by 0.285 seconds. The win is particularly significant for Bates, who started from provisional pole on Friday and paid tribute to his late mother Alison Drower, a motorsport TV presenter who died shortly before last year’s race.
Written for “Bathurst 1000 Qualifying Shock” on 2026-10-10,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Zach Bates will become the first rookie since 2001 to start the Bathurst 1000 in pole position after stunning Mount Panorama for the second day in a row to win the Top 10 Shootout qualifying competition.
asserted
Bates → become → competition
A day after clocking the fastest time around the circuit in this generation of supercars and earning provisional pole, 22-year-old Bates denied Brodie Kostecki the unprecedented feat of becoming the first driver to claim four successive pole positions in the Great Race.
uncertain
Bates → clock → Race
The Top 10 Shootout pits the fastest 10 drivers from Friday’s qualifiers in a single solo lap around the Mount Panorama circuit.
asserted
Shootout → pit → circuit
Their times set the first 10 positions on the grid for the main race on Sunday.
asserted
times → set → Sunday
On the verge of history, Kostecki led with just Bates left to drive on Saturday afternoon.
asserted
Kostecki → lead → afternoon
Having started from pole in each of the last three years, Kostecki finished his lap 0.4942 seconds ahead of the next best driver.
asserted
Kostecki → start → driver
Only legends Peter Brock and Allan Moffat have also claimed three successive poles, with neither able to claim a fourth.
uncertain
neither → claim → fourth
With three drivers remaining, it looked like Kostecki was destined to become the first to achieve the feat.
asserted
Kostecki → remain → feat
The third, Cooper Murray rounded the final turn, Murrays Corner, within a tenth of a second before ultimately crossing the finish line 0.2058 seconds slower than Kostecki.
asserted
third → round → Kostecki
Then, Anton De Pasquale booted his Chevrolet Camaro around Mount Panorama only to finish 0.0384 seconds behind Kostecki’s time.
asserted
Pasquale → boot → time
Only Bates, who recorded the fastest qualifying time on Friday, was left.
asserted
who → record → Friday
Bates gained on Kostecki at each split, crossing the line 0.2850 faster.
asserted
Bates → gain → line
After racing on Friday, Bates paid tribute to his mother and motorsport TV presenter Alison Drower, who died two weeks before his maiden Bathurst 1000 start last year as a wildcard entrant with veteran co-driver Craig Lowndes.
asserted
who → race → Lowndes
Now in just his second start, he will start from pole – becoming just the third rookie, and the first since Marcos Ambrose in 2001, to do so.
asserted
he → start → 2001
“It would’ve been cool, but I’d rather have my name engraved on the [Peter Brock] trophy,” Kostecki said of his failure to nab a fourth pole.
asserted
Kostecki → have → pole
Earlier, James Golding grazed the wall and finished with a time of 2:05:3028.
asserted
Golding → graze → 2:05:3028
It was better than the next attempt from former winner Matt Payne, who, despite being one of the best qualifiers in the Supercars Championship this year, finished the Shootout in 10th.
asserted
who → finish → 10th
Full-season rookie Jayden Ojeda took the lead after three drivers, only to be knocked down a position when Jack Le Brocq finished ahead of him at the halfway mark, becoming the first driver of the day to record a sub 2:05 lap.
asserted
Brocq → take → lap
A duck gatecrashed proceedings at one point during the afternoon’s practice session when it crossed the circuit with a number of ducklings in tow, forcing Mark Winterbottom to break.
asserted
it → gatecrashe → Winterbottom
His Mustang was damaged when James Courtney then rear-ended him.
asserted
Courtney → damage → him
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