KING OF THE MOUNTAIN MOSTERT CLAIMS POLE FOR 12 HOUR

MEDIA RELEASE/Bathurst 12HR – Photos: Velocity Magazine and Supplied

Reigning Bathurst 1000 Champion Chaz Mostert put in one of the fastest sector’s in Bathurst history to claim pole position for Audi in tomorrow’s LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour.

Mostert waited until the very last seconds to steal pole from fellow Audi driver, South African endurance specialist Kelvin van der Linde by just 0.085 of a second – the closest margin in the event’s qualifying history.

It’s the second time the defending Bathurst 1000 Champion has been on pole in the 12 Hour event at Mount Panorama. Mostert now the only driver in history to claim the Allan Simonsen pole position trophy twice.

It marked Audi’s fourth 12 Hour pole, and Mostert’s second 12 Hour pole.

Mostert clinched pole for BMW back in 2018; he also scored a second Bathurst 1000 pole in December.

The last-gasp flyer triggered wild celebrations from the Audi camp, with Liam Talbot and Fraser Ross sharing with Mostert.

“I had a red-hot crack,” Mostert said.

“I knew the other boys were pretty quick. I won [the Simonsen trophy] a few years ago and it was very special then.

“To do it again is pretty amazing. I’m really grateful to do it again.

“To do it with these two legends [Talbot and Ross], Adam [De Borre, engineer] and the whole Audi team, it’s pretty cool.

2020 Bathurst 12 Hour winner Jules Gounon’s team will start from third as the best of the Mercedes, while rounding out a top four is the Audi what was driven this afternoon by 21-year-old Swiss rookie, Ricardo Feller.

Defending Supercars Champion Shane van Gisbergen will start from fifth in his Mercedes while Mostert’s co-driver from the 2021 Bathurst 1000 Lee Holdsworth will start from sixth position.

Sunday’s race will begin in the dark at 5:15am AEST.

The 2022 race will be broadcast live and ad-break free on Fox Sports 506, Kayo Sports and live + Free on the screens of the Seven Network this weekend.

Race day coverage begins at 5:00am for the 5:15am race start, and concludes at 5:30pm AEST on Sunday 15 May.

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