Bathurst 1000 2022: Top 10 shootout cancelled after torrential rain flooded the track

Bathurst officials have shed light on why they cancelled Saturday’s too-10 shootout as drivers share their reaction to the unprecedented call.

Bathurst crash.

Motor racing officials are standing by their decision to cancel the hugely popular top 10 shootout for the Bathurst 1000 after declaring it was just too dangerous to proceed.

Race organisers are expecting to cop some flak from disgruntled fans who braved the torrential rain at Mount Panorama only to be told that the qualifying session had been aborted for the first time in the history of the Great Race.

But officials defended their decision to err on the side of caution, insisting they had no choice other than to cancel qualifying after a massive thunderstorm had drenched the iconic circuit, leaving pools of surface water all over the road.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE OUT FULL COVERAGE OF SATURDAY’S RACING

“Obviously, we had that big downpour of rain, which had a lot in it. There was a lot of run off coming across the circuit,” Supercars CEO Shane Howard said.

“The officials gave it every chance they could with giving it some time to see if it improved, (they) actually tried to redivert where the main watercourse was coming on to the track itself but unfortunately, it was just too much there.

“Obviously we can’t compromise driver safety. It’s extraordinarily disappointing for everyone but we’ve 28 cars ready to start the race.”

Race director James Taylor said officials did everything they could to enable qualifying to proceed but eventually had to concede to the weather.

“We can’t beat Mother Nature,” he said. “We’ve just got to make sure the venue is perfectly safe and everyone involved is going to be well protected.”

The leading drivers all said they agreed with the decision to cancel the shootout even though they were willing to go out if they had to.

Race two of the Toyota Gazoo Australia 86 series was red flagged after a massive crash

The unprecedented move meant the starting grid for Sunday’s 161-lap race was determined by Friday’s qualifying times.

Cameron Waters will start from pole position after he set the fastest time the previous day.

“I’m disappointed to be honest, I really love the shootout around here, it’s pretty special to get the place to yourself for a lap,” Waters said.

“But the rain was crazy and you saw the rivers and everything going on, it was going to be a bit of a safety thing.

“I’m disappointed, but awesome to be starting on pole. It’s cool to be starting on pole again around here.

Last year’s Bathurst 1000 champion Lee Holdsworth will start second on the grid with Chaz Mostert, his winning partner 12 months ago, taking off from third and Richie Stanaway moving to fourth after Shane van Gisbergen was demoted three places by the steward for colliding with Macaulay Jones on Friday.

While organisers will face some criticism for not bringing the session forward to avoid the worst of the storm, the decision to call it off was the right one after there was carnage in the support categories.

There was a massive crash in the Toyota Gazoo Australia 86 race, when Bradi Owen slid off the track and into the sand trap then Alex Hadden ran into him and his car was turned on its side.

But both drivers were able to get out of their cars and walk away from the incident but officials later cancelled the Super2 race and a Porsche race because of the appalling state of the track.

Shane van Gisbergen driver of the #97 Red Bull Ampol Holden Commodore ZB during practice for the Bathurst 1000

DRIVERS REACT TO WILD WEATHER, SHOOTOUT CANCELLATION

Rebecca Williams

Ford star Cam Waters admitted he felt like he had done only “half the job” after securing pole position for Sunday’s Bathurst 1000 after the cancellation of the top-10 shootout, but says it was the right decision to save drivers from “our egos” in the treacherous conditions.

Following the unprecedented call to can the top-10 shootout after a rain bomb exploded on Mount Panorama again on Saturday afternoon, Waters was confirmed as the pole winner after his top qualifying effort in the wet on Friday.

The Tickford Racing star will start from prime position to attack a breakthrough Bathurst win on Sunday and shake his bridesmaid’s tag after finishing runner-up the past two years.

More rain is forecast for Bathurst on Sunday, but the prediction is for a reduced six-10mm.

Supercars’ leading drivers supported the decision to cancel the shootout for the first time in history due to what officials deemed to be “unsafe” conditions with the amount of water pooling on the track.

Cam Waters celebrates being awarded pole.

Last year’s Bathurst 1000 winner Lee Holdsworth, who will start on the front row for the race alongside Waters, described the conditions as “undriveable”.

Chaz Mostert, also defending his Bathurst 1000 crown, said “half the 10” would have found themselves in trouble if the shootout had gone ahead.

Waters, sitting second in the Supercars championship, claimed his second Bathurst pole position after he put his car on the front of the grid in 2020.

He said it was a “weird” feeling not earning the pole in the shootout, but was focused on making his start position count in tomorrow’s race.

“I feel like I’ve done half the job, yesterday was great being quickest in the wet. That’s obviously cool but you know you’ve still got the shootout to come,” Waters said.

“(I) respect the decision that they’ve made. The shootout for me is probably one of the highlights of the year. I love getting into it and then putting it all on the line for a lap.

“I find that exciting and love it. But obviously the water that was on the track was crazy.

“The drivers do drive to the conditions but it’s more about the cars and in the shootout you put it all on the line, and it’s our egos driving it a lot of the time and if we end up in the fence and tear the car up and then not be able to race tomorrow then that’s probably the bigger issue for me.

“Right now, it’s a little bit weird because I did not have to earn it like we usually would, but I still did the lap (Friday).

“We are just thinking about tomorrow’s race and that’s the one we want to win.”

Lee Holdsworth says conditions were “undriveable”.

Chaz Mostert says car temperature became a major issue due to the weather.

Mostert, who is chasing his third Bathurst 1000 crown after winning with Holdsworth in 2021, said car temperature for a hot shootout lap was as much of an issue as the water on track.

“The water on the track was worrying, but the biggest thing for a top-10 shootout is you have just got no car temp and these cars are quite sketchy in those conditions,” Mostert, who will start from third on the grid, said.

“If it was another 20-minute qualifying or something like that and all 10 cars were on track together, we would have the time to build up to it.

“But I thought Supercars (made) the right decision because for us 10 drivers to go out there on a warm-up lap with a cold car and then ask us to go and do something special in those conditions to try and beat each other I think we would have found half the 10 to be in trouble.

“The other five would have been a bit more sensible and I would have probably been one of the five that wasn’t sensible. I’m happy with the call.

“Listening to Supercars, I think they are being proactive, it’s a good idea to have a look out there now and see where that water is coming from and see if we can try and make those things better for tomorrow because we want to do as much green racing as we can.”

Holdsworth, who will retire from full-time racing at the end of the year,

“It’s a little bit of an empty feeling for me. I really wanted to have a crack at my last top-10 shootout and didn’t get to do it, but …. they made the right call, the track was ridiculously bad with the water, the rivers,” Holdsworth said.

“It was looking like it was probably possible to run it at the start, but …. before that next front started rolling in it was back to being undriveable.

“Our cars would probably be aquaplaning in third gear and we probably wouldn’t have reached full throttle for the whole lap, so it wouldn’t have been that entertaining for people to watch anyway and still a little bit empty, but I’m very happy to be starting off the front row.

“We are sorry we couldn’t do it, gutted that we couldn’t have a crack, but it would have been literally undriveable at speed.”

Series leader Shane van Gisbergen will start from seventh on the grid after his three-place grid penalty was applied after a late qualifying incident on Friday.

“We’ll start P7 tomorrow with our penalty due to the top-10 shootout being cancelled, so our focus is now on the race,” van Gisbergen said.

“It would have been silly for the top-10 shootout to go ahead in these conditions and the right call was definitely made. All eyes on tomorrow’s race now.”

RACES ALSO CANCELLED

After a downpour hit the circuit just before the start of the race, Bradi Owen slid off the track and into the sand trap in the treacherous conditions.

Then Alex Hadden lost control of his car and skidded sideways on the section of the track before his car ran into Owen’s car and turned onto its side.

But both drivers were able to get out of their cars and walk away from the incident.

Supercars then made the decision to cancel Saturday afternoon’s Super2 race, due to the condition of the track.

Race two of the sport’s feeder series was due to start at 4pm, but there were rivers of water running across the track.

Campsites are pictured during practice for the Bathurst 1000

WHAT ABOUT QUALIFYING?

Runaway series leader Shane van Gisbergen has been handed a three-spot grid penalty for the Bathurst 1000 after an incident late in Friday’s qualifying session.

The defending Supercars champion finished fourth in the wet qualifying session, but came under investigation by race stewards for an incident with Brad Jones Racing’s Macauley Jones on his final timed lap.

Van Gisbergen made contact with Jones at turn 13, sending the BJR driver sliding into the outside wall and sustaining heavy damage to the rear of the car.

The stewards later confirmed the penalty, which will be applied to the qualifying position after Saturday’s top 10 shootout.

Despite the weather warnings, Supercars chief executive Shane Howard is adamant the annual race will go ahead as planned.

The final practice session of the weekend has been red flagged with 20 seconds remaining.

Boys catches water on the way into McPhillamy, hits the wall and falls off into the sand #RepcoSC#Bathurst1000pic.twitter.com/TvMVEa2sqa

— Supercars (@supercars) October 8, 2022

“In light of the weather forecast over the coming days, patrons are encouraged to plan accordingly,” he said on Wednesday.

“Sessions will begin for all categories on track on Thursday and run through until Sunday’s great race.

“Off track entertainment at the top and bottom of the mountain will also proceed as planned.

“We will act accordingly to ensure the safety of patrons and competitors at all times.”

What time does the race start?

11am SUNDAY OCT 8

Originally published as Bathurst 1000 2022: Top 10 shootout cancelled after torrential rain flooded the track