He’s 22. He’s from Canberra. And on Friday he went faster around Mount Panorama than anyone has in the current era.
Zach Bates put his Matt Stone Racing Chevrolet on provisional pole for the Bathurst 1000 with a 2:03.938. The Gen3 cars arrived in 2023, and in all that time nobody had cracked 2:04 at Bathurst. Until now.
Then he climbed out of the car and dedicated it to his mum.
“I am speechless”
Bates was still catching his breath when he spoke after the session.
“I can’t believe it; I am speechless,” he said. “Whole credit to the crew behind me.”
Then he got personal. “This is for my mum who passed last year.” The family hadn’t had it easy, he admitted. “We’ve had a pretty average year, the whole family.”
For a lot of people watching at home, that was the moment of the weekend so far.
Chevys lock out the top three
Bates wasn’t the only Chevrolet up the front. Anton De Pasquale was second in the Team 18 car, just 0.116 back. Cooper Murray made it three Chevys in a row for Erebus.
The first Ford was Will Brown in fourth for Triple Eight. Brodie Kostecki was fifth for Dick Johnson Racing.
Behind them, it was a real mix. David Reynolds and James Courtney were sixth in the second Team 18 Chevy. Bates’s teammate Jack Le Brocq made it two Matt Stone cars in the top 10, in seventh. PremiAir’s Jayden Ojeda was eighth, and James Golding snuck into 10th for Blanchard Racing.
Bates shares the No. 10 car with co-driver Aaron Seton.
Interesting result, given every Ford had a new engine fitted this week to fix a power loss at altitude. On Friday at least, the Chevys had the edge.
Big names further back
Last year’s winner Matt Payne scraped into the top 10 in ninth. Kai Allen? Quickest in practice, yet 11th in qualifying. Broc Feeney, still in the title hunt, ended up 12th.
Reigning champ Chaz Mostert was down in 16th. And Craig Lowndes? He’s 22nd. Not where you’d want to be when you’re chasing one more win for Brock, 20 years on.
There’s a nice link there, too. Last year, Bates was Lowndes’s co-driver in that very Team 18 entry.
Two big crashes
It wasn’t all smooth. Ryan Wood clipped the inside wall at the entry to Forrest’s Elbow in practice and slammed into the outside barrier. The impact was reportedly 42 G. He was cleared by medics, but missed qualifying and will start from the back on Sunday.
Same story for Rylan Gray and Tony D’Alberto. Their Dick Johnson Racing Ford went off at The Dipper late in practice. It got towed back. They’ll start at the back too.
The Shootout still to come
Provisional pole isn’t the real thing just yet. The top 10 go out one at a time in Saturday’s Shootout to decide the grid. Bates topped qualifying, so he heads out last. Plenty reckon he’s the one to beat.
Kostecki has a shot at history of his own. Four poles in a row at Mount Panorama? Nobody’s ever done it. One more on Saturday and he would.
Race day
First, the Shootout on Saturday arvo locks in the front row. Then it’s lights out on Sunday 11 October for 1,000 kilometres around the mountain.
Win or lose, Bates has a lap he’ll carry with him for life. And one person he wanted to share it with.