Zach Bates claims Bathurst 1000 pole for Matt Stone Racing as Kostecki denied a fourth straight Shootout win

Bates delivers the Shootout shock of the weekend

Zach Bates will start Sunday's 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 from pole position after winning Saturday afternoon's Top 10 Shootout at Mount Panorama, the single-lap decider that sets the first ten grid positions for the Great Race. Driving the #10 Matt Stone Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 alongside co-driver Aaron Seton, the 22-year-old rookie recorded 2:04.2062s to deny Brodie Kostecki by 0.2850 seconds, according to Speedcafe's results table. ¹²⁴

The lap marks Bates's first Supercars pole position and the second for Matt Stone Racing, which previously took pole through Jack Le Brocq at Darwin in 2023, as reported by Speedcafe. Fox Sports adds that it is the team's first-ever Bathurst pole. Fox Motorsport quotes team principal Matt Stone saying "No one expected us to do what we've done this weekend", and that after provisional pole on Friday "the pressure's off, you already ticked that box". Speedcafe and Nine both report that rival team members emerged from garages to applaud as Bates returned down pit lane. ⁴⁵⁷

Bates told Speedcafe he "didn't think the thing could go this fast" and that Kostecki's time was "a good carrot to chase", while Kostecki congratulated the Matt Stone crew and said: "I love a good underdog story. I've been a part of one in the past so I'm super happy for those guys." Those quotes come from Speedcafe's Shootout coverage. ⁴

"I can't believe it. Speechless, really," Bates said, in remarks carried by AAP reporting published by the Canberra Times. He described the Shootout specialists alongside him — Kostecki and Anton De Pasquale — as "shootout gurus" he knew it would take a lot to beat. ³

Seven's broadcast commentary captured the moment, with Richard Craill calling "some kind of lap from this kid" through The Chase, while co-commentator Garth Tander said Friday's lap had been career-defining and Bates had "just doubled down and done it again". Those remarks are from Seven's own broadcast, as reported by 7NEWS. ⁶

Kostecki's record bid falls 0.285 seconds short

Kostecki, who had started the Bathurst 1000 from pole in each of the past three years, laid down 2:04.4912s as the fifth driver on track in the Shootout, a time reported by the ABC and AAP. Only Peter Brock and Allan Moffat had previously claimed three successive poles, and neither managed a fourth, with the Sydney Morning Herald noting Kostecki was chasing an unprecedented feat denied to those legends. ¹²

According to the Sydney Morning Herald's lap-by-lap account, Cooper Murray crossed the line 0.2058 seconds slower than Kostecki after matching him through the final turn, and Anton De Pasquale fell just 0.0384 seconds short. Will Brown and David Reynolds also tried and failed to topple the Dick Johnson Racing driver's benchmark, per ABC and AAP reporting. ¹²³

Nine reports that Kostecki's DJR mechanics had completed a transaxle change between final practice and qualifying, and that Kostecki was up by half a second through the first two sectors of his lap before Bates, last on track, went over a tenth quicker in the first sector and a quarter of a second clear at the second interval. "I'm just proud of the team and I'm looking forward to tomorrow," Kostecki told Speedcafe. ⁵⁴

Despite missing the record, Kostecki retains a strong starting position: front row for a fourth-straight year, 7NEWS notes, with Todd Hazelwood as his co-driver in the #17 Dick Johnson Racing Ford Mustang GT. ⁶⁴

A maiden pole with personal weight

Bates's pole carries a notable backstory. His mother, motorsport media identity Alison Drower, died from cancer in September 2025, weeks before his Bathurst 1000 debut last year, in which he finished 10th as a Triple Eight Race Engineering wildcard alongside Craig Lowndes. Fox Sports and AAP-reported coverage both recount that history and note Bates paid tribute to his mother after racing on Friday. ⁷²³¹

He comes from a well-known motorsport family: he is the son of former rally and Supercars driver Rick Bates and the nephew of four-time Australian Rally champion Neal Bates, per the ABC. Fox Sports reports Bates's helmet carried a tribute to his late mother, and that he embraced his father after the lap, telling reporters of his dad's reaction: "He didn't say anything — he was crying." ²⁷¹

Nine reports Bates joins Craig Lowndes (1996) and Mark Larkham (1999) as drivers to claim their maiden Supercars poles at the Great Race itself, while ABC and AAP identify him as only the third rookie ever to take Bathurst pole, after Klaus Ludwig in 1987 and Marcos Ambrose in 2001 — the first since Ambrose 25 years ago. ⁵²³⁷

The achievement also extends to his co-driver: Bates and Aaron Seton — son of Supercars great Glenn — will share the front row, with Fox Sports noting it has been 30 years since a Seton started on the front row at Bathurst. ⁷

How the Shootout unfolded and the rest of the grid

Bates entered the Shootout as provisional pole-sitter after Friday qualifying, where he set 2:03.9376s to become the first driver below the 2:04 benchmark in the Gen3 era, according to ABC and AAP reporting. Speedcafe described his Friday fastest time as stunning the paddock, with Saturday's result proving it was no fluke. ²³⁴

Nine's session account details the running order: James Golding, 10th-fastest on Friday, opened the Shootout and clipped the inside of The Cutting without damage; reigning Bathurst champion Matt Payne fell half a tenth short of Golding; Jayden Ojeda then went quickest before Jack Le Brocq became the first to dip into the 2:04s for the day. Bates told Nine the team had been understeery in practice but cooler ambient temperatures and rising track grip helped the car come to him. ⁵

The confirmed top ten, matching Speedcafe's results table with the ABC and AAP grid list, is: 1. Bates/Seton (Matt Stone Racing), 2. Kostecki/Hazelwood (Dick Johnson Racing), 3. De Pasquale/Holdsworth (Team 18) at 2:04.5296s, 4. Murray/Dalton (Erebus Motorsport), 5. Le Brocq/Jones (Matt Stone Racing), 6. Brown/Pye (Triple Eight Race Engineering), 7. Ojeda/Russell (PremiAir Racing), 8. Reynolds/Courtney (Team 18), 9. Golding/Stanaway (Blanchard Racing Team), 10. Payne/Davison (Grove Racing) at 2:05.3517s. ⁴²

Several big names missed the Shootout entirely. ABC and AAP report defending Supercars champion Chaz Mostert will start 16th in the Toyota Supra, Kai Allen fell short in 11th, Broc Feeney qualified 12th and Cam Waters 13th. Payne, despite being 10th on the grid, will not be disheartened by history: he started 18th last year en route to a wet-weather win with Garth Tander. Kostecki's rookie teammate Rylan Gray and Ryan Wood start from the back row after separate incidents in Friday's first practice. ²³

Race-day practicalities and the practice-session chaos

The 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 is scheduled to start at 11:30am AEDT on Sunday, 11 October, per Speedcafe, with ABC Sport running a live blog from lights out to the chequered flag. The Shootout result sets the starting grid but is separate from any race result, which will only be confirmed after Sunday's final classification. ⁴²

Saturday's build-up included an unusual interruption: a family of ducks crossed the circuit at Conrod Straight during practice, forcing Tickford co-driver Mark Winterbottom to brake hard, with Reynolds's co-driver James Courtney locking up and rear-ending the Tickford Ford Mustang. Reports differ on the timing — the ABC places the incident in Friday practice, while AAP copy in the Canberra Times says Saturday — but both agree both cars were able to return and complete the 60-minute session before the Shootout. ²³⁶

The rain forecast for Saturday afternoon stayed away, with Nine reporting the track was bathed in sunshine for the Shootout, in contrast to the conditions that shaped last year's race. ⁵