R13 SHOOTOUT - Gardner rides onto pole in scary shootout
18/11/2000 19:09 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) - Former 500cc Motorcycle World Champion, Wayne Gardner, has upstaged his more-fancied team-mate and eight other regular Shell Series stars to claim a surprise pole position in this morning’s “scary” top ten qualifying shootout.
Gardner – who hasn’t driven a V8 Supercar since Bathurst last year, and makes his debut behind the wheel of a Ford this weekend – put his second-string Ford-Tickford Falcon in top spot with a spectacular 2:28.32 minute flier to stake his claim for tomorrow’s FAI 1000.
Gardner will share the car with Rally ace Neal Bates.
In some of the worst conditions ever seen in the 22-year history of the Bathurst qualifying showcase, the session took on a last-man-standing situation as continuing rain made the circuit as greasy and treacherous as it has been all week.
Traction was particularly hard to find in the super-fast Chase complex, where three drivers speared off at the left-hander.
Making his appearance in the prestigious one-lap qualifying duel third in the order, Gardner set the benchmark time with a slight flaw in the Chase, but an otherwise neat, cautious run.
Gardner – who was also fastest in the pre-shootout warm-up – then watched from pitlane as the V8 Supercars’ more-established stars tried then failed to beat his mark.
"I tried to put together a good lap without putting myself out and I just kept it on the road by a bee's dick," a colloquial Gardner said.
“Conditions seemed to be a bit better over the top of the mountain so I picked the pace up a bit there, but I went into the Chase too fast then went wide and only just managed to keep the car on the road.”
"I was annoyed at (the) mistake I made but obviously it was good enough to get pole. I feel pretty comfortable in the rain and I was lucky on the day. It's nice to go home with the pole trophy, but anything can happen tomorrow," he said.
During the driest time of the session, Steven Johnson was untidy across the top of the mountain but fast enough to make it an all-Ford front row for tomorrow’s marathon. Johnson was 1.2 seconds slower than Gardner.
"It was probably lucky I was tenth yesterday so I could go out first today, because it was just getting wetter and wetter," Johnson explained.
"It's easy to have a twitch and get over confident, get an inch out of shape and you lose it. I am pleased the Shell car is still straight," he said.
Firming as favourites due to the unceasing downpour, Championship leader Mark Skaife failed to better the times of Johnson and Gardner, and will start third.
Skaife, who is partnering reigning SCS champion Craig Lowndes, is the lone Commodore in the top seven.
"That was about as fast as we could have gone in those conditions," Skaife said. "I am just happy to come back with the headlights still in it!"
Skaife remains quietly-confident. "The balance is the whole year's work up to this point and tomorrow is only one more race in the Shell Series,” he said.
“We've got to finish and that's the most important thing. We want to win the race and we will attack it as we normally would, but we don't want to do anything foolish," Skaife said, who leads the Shell Series by 209 points.
Mark Larkham and Paul Radisich were pleased with their fourth and fifth places respectively.
Three drivers included the Chase quagmire in their not-so-hot lap, including Young Lion Todd Kelly and Castrol charger Russell Ingall.
Renowned as a qualifying shootout specialist, Garth Tander will start from tenth tomorrow after also locking his front brakes and taking a detour through the outfield at the Chase.
Tony Longhurst also came to grief in the same section of track during his warm-up lap, forfeiting his chance of pole position. Longhurst later recovered to be fastest along with co-driver David Besnard in the afternoon practice session.
Wayne Gardner will attempt to win his first Bathurst crown in tomorrow’s race, after finishing on the podium in 1995 with Neil Crompton.
In support of the V8 Supercars, Team Asia Online leader John Faulkner, driving with Ed Aitken, emerged as the winner of this afternoon’s three-hour GTP Showroom Showdown aboard a JFR-prepared production Commodore.
The Supercars will warm up just after 7am tomorrow morning before the green flag drops for the main event at 10am local time. Rain is expected to continue throughout the night and into tomorrow.
**TOP TEN - SHOOTOUT**
1st WAYNE GARDNER (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon [2:28.384min]
2nd STEVEN JOHNSON (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon [2:29.615]
3rd MARK SKAIFE (Mobil-Holden Racing) - VT Commodore [2:30.672]
4th MARK LARKHAM (Mitre 10 Racing) - AU Falcon [2:31.616]
5th PAUL RADISICIH (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon [2:32.200]
6th GLENN SETON (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon [2:32.857]
7th TONY LONGHURST (Caltex Havoline Racing) - AU Falcon [2:33.361]
8th TODD KELLY (Mycar Holden Young Lions) - VT Commodore [2:37.328]
9th RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VT Commodore [2:43.551]
10th GARTH TANDER (Team Valvoline-Cummins) - VT Commodore [2:55.728]
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