RED Bull Racing's Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell have claimed pole position for Sunday's Bathurst 1000.
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Whincup set a time of 2.07.8825 during the Top 10 Shootout to give him the top position over Mark Winterbottom, who set a time of 2.08.0764.
"The track was definatly better, It was quite greasy to start with so I was in the best position to go faster. The car was fantastic, I can't fault it at all and I got a good lap out of it," Whincup said.
Whincup did reveal that unless they have a last minute change of strategy, Dumbrell will start the race tomorrow.
"I think it is good for Paul to get underway, I find it a a challenge to jump in the car after the race has started so I don't want to put that pressure on Paul at all.
"Me being a regular driver and knowing the car well I can jump in in the second stint so that is the plan at this stage.
"Paul's times are as good as quick as mine so we don't need to concentrate on Paul just doing the minimum amount of laps, he will probably do half the race, so we aren't restricted like most combos were at Sandown trying to get the co-driver out of the wa as quick as possible."
Whincup's time was a disappointment for Ford's Mark Winterbottom who was at the top of the grid in the earlier lap.
"The times we so close and the cars were as we have seen reasonably hard to drive at the moment and with the changing track conditions, but the car felt so nice, the best it has been all weekend.
"I think with the temperature drops the car is actually feeling better than last year," Winterbottom said.
"I am pumped, front row at Bathurst, you can't be really too disappointed with that."
"The adrenalin, the excitement, to own the mountain just for yourself, even just for one lap it is an amazing experience."
Jason Bright was third quickest with a time of 2.08.2763.
Starting in the top 10 positions on the grid for Sunday's Bathurst 1000 are:
1. Jamie Whincup (2.07.8825) - Holden, Red Bull Racing Australia
2. Mark Winterbottom (2.08.0764) - Ford, Pepsi Max Crew
3. Jason Bright (2.08.2763) - Holden, Team BOC
4. Shane van Gisbergen (2.08.2804) - Holden, Team TEKNO V.I.P Petfoods
5. James Courtney (2.08.8310) - Holden, Holden Racing Team
6. Craig Lowndes (2.08.9636) - Holden, Red Bull Racing Australia
7. Will Davison (2.009.0023) - Ford, Pepsi Max Crew
8. Scott McLaughlin (2.09.1926) - Holden, Fujitsu Racing GRM
9. David Reynolds (2.09.2433) - Ford, The Bottle-O Racing Team
10. Alex Premat (2.10.4145) - Holden - Fujitsu Racing GRM
