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Zach Bates has secured pole position for the Bathurst 1000, setting a time of 2:04.2062 to narrowly beat Brodie Kostecki by 0.285 seconds during the Top 10 Shootout at Mount Panorama on October 10. This is Bates' second attempt and first pole position in this renowned race, making him only the third rookie ever to achieve this feat. The article highlights the intense competition among drivers including Anton De Pasquale, David Reynolds, and others, while also touching upon unexpected incidents like ducks crossing the track during practice sessions.
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.
In short:
Zach Bates has qualified on pole for Sunday's Bathurst 1000, topping the time sheets during the Top 10 Shootout at Mount Panorama.
asserted
Bates → qualify → Panorama
Qualifying king Brodie Kostecki failed to become the first driver to snare four straight pole positions, finishing second.
What's next?
asserted
What → fail → positions
ABC Sport will have a live blog of the Bathurst 1000 from lights out to the chequered flag on Sunday, October 11.
asserted
Sport → have → Sunday
Supercars rookie Zach Bates — not qualifying king Brodie Kostecki — will start the Bathurst 1000 in pole position.
asserted
Bates → start → position
Kostecki was on track to become the first driver to snare four straight pole positions after laying a mighty lap of two minutes and 4.4912 seconds as the fifth driver in Saturday's top-10 shootout.
asserted
Kostecki → become → shootout
Proven race winners Will Brown, David Reynolds and Anton De Pasquale tried, but failed to beat Kostecki's time.
But provisional pole-sitter Bates refused to waver, proving his mettle as the last driver with a searing lap around the famous Mount Panorama track.
asserted
Bates → try → track
, the 22-year-old clocked 2:04.2062 to deny Kostecki by 0.285 seconds.
asserted
old → clock → seconds
Bates had earlier become the first to go below the 2:04 benchmark in the Gen3 era after taking provisional pole with a time of 2:03.9376.
asserted
Bates → become → 2:03.9376
In just his second pursuit of the holy grail of Australian motorsport, Bates is the third rookie to claim pole position after Klaus Ludwig (1987) and Marcos Ambrose (2001).
uncertain
Bates → claim → Ludwig
His surprise success comes after his mother Alison Drower died from cancer weeks before his Bathurst 1000 debut last year, in which he finished 10th as part of the Triple Eight Race Engineering wildcard with the great Craig Lowndes.
asserted
he → come → Lowndes
Team 18 driver De Pasquale will start in the second row with fourth-fastest Cooper Murray, while series leader Matt Payne was 10th.
asserted
Payne → start → Murray
But Grove Racing star Payne will be far from disheartened, given he had started from 18th en route to last year's epic wet-weather triumph with former co-driver Garth Tander.
asserted
he → give → Tander
Reynolds will start on the grid in eighth after a family of ducks threatened to derail his bid for a second Bathurst 1000 title.
asserted
family → start → title
Tickford co-driver Mark Winterbottom was forced to a sudden halt when ducks were spotted crossing the track at Conrod Straight during practice on Friday.
asserted
ducks → force → Friday
Winterbottom's sudden braking caught out Reynolds' co-driver James Courtney, who locked up and slammed into the rear of the Tickford Ford Mustang.
asserted
who → catch → Mustang
But both cars were able to return to complete the 60-minute practice session before the shootout.
asserted
cars → return → shootout
Defending Supercars champion Chaz Mostert was among the big names to miss out on the top-10 shootout and will start from 16th for the best qualifying result in the Toyota Supra.
Payne's teammate Kai Allen fell agonisingly short in 11th, while title contender Broc Feeney was 12th ahead of Cam Waters in 13th.
asserted
Feeney → miss → 13th
Kostecki's rookie teammate Rylan Gray will start from the back row with Ryan Wood after the duo crashed out in separate incidents in Friday's first practice session.
asserted
duo → start → session
ABC Sport will have a live blog of the Bathurst 1000 from lights out to the chequered flag on Sunday, October 11.
asserted
Sport → have → Sunday
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