Cameron Waters to start Bathurst 1000 from pole position after rain sees top 10 shootout cancelled

Torrential rain on Saturday afternoon and then standing water on the Mount Panorama circuit saw the top 10 shootout cancelled for the first time.

It meant that Waters, who was the fastest in Friday qualifying with a 2:23.6168 in the wet, will go from pole position in Sunday's Bathurst 1000.

"I was ready to go, I put my suit on, I was starting to listen to music then I saw the lap that the guys did around the track and I thought that we were going to get going," Waters said.

"But as soon as you hit a river you aquaplane, you've got no control over the car and you don't want to be writing cars off the day before the race.

"Yesterday it was pretty wild when there was a river across The Chase, turn one, I literally had no control of the car.

"But yesterday we were lucky as once you got past the river the track was pretty good, whereas today everything is just drenched so yeah, I'm disappointed but I think the officials have made the right call.

"We want to have all the cars running tomorrow or at least starting the race, I'm sure there'll be a few crashing during the day."

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Earlier on Saturday afternoon the downpour had already led to the cancellation of scheduled Carrera Cup and Dunlop Series races.

Though the rain then eased, there was still standing water on the track as officials made inspections and tried to determine if it was safe to go ahead.

It wasn't. At 4.55pm - 10 minutes before the shootout was scheduled to start - Motorsport Australia advised it had been cancelled "due to extreme weather."

For Tickford star Waters it's the second time his #6 Monster Energy Racing Mustang has occupied position one for the start of the Great Race, having also gone from pole in 2020.

"It's very special, it's the biggest race of the year and you want to be starting up the front on pole. 2020 we managed to get it done in the dry, that was a very special day to get pole in the shootout and start on pole," he said.

"[But] It was a little bit of a buzz kill because it was COVID there was no crowd here, but this year it's going to be a lot better with the crowd here."

Defending Bathurst 1000 champion Lee Holdsworth, who had shocked many in qualifying his Penrite Racing Mustang in second, joins Waters on the front row.

"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," he said.

"Gutted that we couldn't have a crack, but it literally would've been undrivable at speed.

"But I'm very happy to be starting on the front row."

The man who partnered Holdsworth in last year's successful Bathurst 1000, Chaz Mostert, will go from position three.

Having claimed pole position last year with a 2:03.3736 scorcher in his Walkinshaw Andretti United Commodore, many were looking forward to seeing what Mostert could do in the one-lap flier.

He didn't get his chance, but he said the right call was made.

"The water on the track was worrying," Mostert said.

"For us 10 drivers to jump out there on a warm up lap with a cold car and ask us to go and try and do something special in those conditions, try and beat each other, you probably would've found half the 10 to be in trouble and the other five probably would've been a bit more sensible and I would've been one of the five that wasn't sensible."

Joining Mostert on the second row will be Richie Stanaway in the Erebus wildcard entry.

Though Stanaway had actually ranked fifth in qualifying, he was elevated due to a penalty handed down to fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen.

Championship leader van Gisbergen copped a three-spot penalty for making contact with Macauley Jones on the entrance to The Dipper during Friday's qualifying session.

It means he will start from position seven.

"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," van Gisbergen said.

Supercars officials said they are still intending to start the Bathurst 1000 at 11.15am on Sunday.

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