Photo via The Sydney Morning Herald

Rookie claims Bathurst 1000 pole position in a Shootout shock

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗
Cite

Howe, F. (2026, October 10). Rookie claims Bathurst 1000 pole position in a Shootout shock. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/rookie-claims-bathurst-1000-pole-position-in-a-shootout-shock-20261010-p614ec.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-10 · by Frances Howe

Quick Summary

Zach Bates secured pole position for the Bathurst 1000 on Saturday by winning the Top 10 Shootout at Mount Panorama, becoming the first rookie since 2001 to achieve this feat. In a dramatic conclusion, Bates overcame Brodie Kostecki’s lead time of 0.4942 seconds with a faster lap, finishing just 0.2850 seconds ahead. This result denied Kostecki from potentially tying legendary drivers Peter Brock and Allan Moffat for three successive poles.
Written by AI on 2026-10-10, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Zach Bates, a 22-year-old rookie Supercars driver, secured pole position for the Bathurst 1000 on October 7, 2026, after winning the Top 10 Shootout at Mount Panorama. This marks the first time since 2001 that a rookie has achieved this feat. Bates clocked in with a lap time of 2:04.2062, beating Brodie Kostecki, who was aiming for an unprecedented fourth consecutive pole position, by just 0.285 seconds. The Top 10 Shootout is a qualifying competition determining the first ten positions on the grid based on solo laps around Mount Panorama. Bates' teammate, Aaron Seton, will start alongside him in the number 10 Matt Stone Racing Chevrolet car. This victory comes as a shock to many after Kostecki had set a lap time of 2:04.4912, the fastest until Bates surpassed it. The race is scheduled for Sunday, October 11.

Written for “Bathurst 1000 Qualifying” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Bathurst 1000 Qualifying
Sports · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 4 of 48 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different stages of the Bathurst 1000 race: one is about the qualifying where Zach Bates won pole position, and the other covers关键时刻的比赛瞬间,特别是关于Brodie Kostecki在比赛后期的策略失误和最终戏剧性的结局。因此,这两个文章描述的是同一个赛事的不同阶段,而不是同一特定事件。”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 68/100
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different stages of the Bathurst 1000 event, with one focusing on Kostecki's pursuit of a record and the other reporting that a rookie won pole position, denying Kostecki the record.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A describes Kai Allen's performance during practice sessions, while Article B reports on Zach Bates winning pole position in the Top 10 Shootout qualifying competition.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A describes crashes during practice sessions on Friday, while Article B reports on the Top 10 Shootout qualifying competition that determines pole position, which took place later in the weekend.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 0 of 26 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A describes Zach Bates winning the Top 10 Shootout qualifying competition on Saturday, while Article B discusses his performance and third-place finish in the actual Bathurst 1000 race on Sunday.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 1 of 8 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A reports on Zach Bates winning the Top 10 Shootout qualifying competition, while Article B provides live updates and summarizes that Zach Bates secured pole position after the shootout but does not describe the same specific moment or incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
2 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-10 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5572 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Frances Howe
15 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 His itinerary was expected to include Hong Kong as well as Guangzhou and Shenzhen in mainland China.
🔮 In response to their dismay last year, race organisers said they were revising their ballot for 2027 and now, 100 spots have been set aside for Bridge Club members ahead of the general ballot closing on Monday.
🔮 The WNBA also attracts investors such as Serena Williams (part-owner of the Tempo), Tom Brady (who has a stake in the Las Vegas Aces), Magic Johnson (part owner of the Los Angeles Sparks) and Karlie Kloss, who is an investor in the group that owns the Liberty.
🔮 French Polynesian police said they could not confirm whether there was an investigation under way.
🔮 Zach Bates will become the first rookie since 2001 to start the Bathurst 1000 in pole position after stunning Mount Panorama for the second day in a row to win the Top 10 Shootout qualifying competition.
🔮 Their chairs are ringed around the crisp pork, which has been cooking over hot coals for most of the day’s best sunlight and will continue until eight hours of slow rotations have been completed.
🔮 One day soon – if all goes according to plan – Buckley’s nails will match a Gen3 Supercar, an upgrade that would make her the first full-time female Supercars driver since 2019.
🔮 Two of them, Cathy and Michelle Price, wouldn’t have been on the Newcastle express if not for the tickets they won in a competition on the morning of the game.
🔮 It’s been 31 long weeks (not including pre-season), but by 10pm tonight the 2026 NRL season will have finally come to an end.
🔮 An absent Isaac Heeney won the Swans’ best and fairest on Thursday night, as club chairman Andrew Pridham said ruling the players involved in the Pullman Hotel scandal ineligible would have been “inappropriate and in excess of the sanction”.
Also by Frances Howe
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 15 articles by Frances Howe →

Topics

Camaro Chevrolet Shootout the Bathurst 1000 the Great Race

Subjects

Kostecki PERSON · 7× Bates PERSON · 4× Peter Brock PERSON · 2× Alison Drower PERSON · 1× Allan Moffat PERSON · 1× Anton De Pasquale PERSON · 1× Brodie Kostecki PERSON · 1× Chevrolet ORG · 1× Cooper Murray PERSON · 1× Zach Bates PERSON · 1×

Narrative

After racing on Friday, Bates paid tribute to his mother and motorsport TV presenter Alison Drower, who died two weeks before his maiden Bathurst 1000 start last year as a wildcard entrant with veteran co-driver Craig Lowndes.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-10
🔮 Zach Bates will become the first rookie since 2001 to start the Bathurst 1000 in pole position after stunning Mount Panorama for the second day in a row to win the Top 10 Shootout qualifying competition.
2026-10-10 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Rookie claims Bathurst 1000 pole position in a Shootout shock · assertive framing

Claims (20 extracted, 2 hedged)

Zach Bates will become the first rookie since 2001 to start the Bathurst 1000 in pole position after stunning Mount Panorama for the second day in a row to win the Top 10 Shootout qualifying competition. asserted
Bates → become → competition
A day after clocking the fastest time around the circuit in this generation of supercars and earning provisional pole, 22-year-old Bates denied Brodie Kostecki the unprecedented feat of becoming the first driver to claim four successive pole positions in the Great Race. uncertain
Bates → clock → Race
The Top 10 Shootout pits the fastest 10 drivers from Friday’s qualifiers in a single solo lap around the Mount Panorama circuit. asserted
Shootout → pit → circuit
Their times set the first 10 positions on the grid for the main race on Sunday. asserted
times → set → Sunday
On the verge of history, Kostecki led with just Bates left to drive on Saturday afternoon. asserted
Kostecki → lead → afternoon
Having started from pole in each of the last three years, Kostecki finished his lap 0.4942 seconds ahead of the next best driver. asserted
Kostecki → start → driver
Only legends Peter Brock and Allan Moffat have also claimed three successive poles, with neither able to claim a fourth. uncertain
neither → claim → fourth
With three drivers remaining, it looked like Kostecki was destined to become the first to achieve the feat. asserted
Kostecki → remain → feat
The third, Cooper Murray rounded the final turn, Murrays Corner, within a tenth of a second before ultimately crossing the finish line 0.2058 seconds slower than Kostecki. asserted
third → round → Kostecki
Then, Anton De Pasquale booted his Chevrolet Camaro around Mount Panorama only to finish 0.0384 seconds behind Kostecki’s time. asserted
Pasquale → boot → time
Only Bates, who recorded the fastest qualifying time on Friday, was left. asserted
who → record → Friday
Bates gained on Kostecki at each split, crossing the line 0.2850 faster. asserted
Bates → gain → line
After racing on Friday, Bates paid tribute to his mother and motorsport TV presenter Alison Drower, who died two weeks before his maiden Bathurst 1000 start last year as a wildcard entrant with veteran co-driver Craig Lowndes. asserted
who → race → Lowndes
Now in just his second start, he will start from pole – becoming just the third rookie, and the first since Marcos Ambrose in 2001, to do so. asserted
he → start → 2001
“It would’ve been cool, but I’d rather have my name engraved on the [Peter Brock] trophy,” Kostecki said of his failure to nab a fourth pole. asserted
Kostecki → have → pole
Earlier, James Golding grazed the wall and finished with a time of 2:05:3028. asserted
Golding → graze → 2:05:3028
It was better than the next attempt from former winner Matt Payne, who, despite being one of the best qualifiers in the Supercars Championship this year, finished the Shootout in 10th. asserted
who → finish → 10th
Full-season rookie Jayden Ojeda took the lead after three drivers, only to be knocked down a position when Jack Le Brocq finished ahead of him at the halfway mark, becoming the first driver of the day to record a sub 2:05 lap. asserted
Brocq → take → lap
A duck gatecrashed proceedings at one point during the afternoon’s practice session when it crossed the circuit with a number of ducklings in tow, forcing Mark Winterbottom to break. asserted
it → gatecrashe → Winterbottom
His Mustang was damaged when James Courtney then rear-ended him. asserted
Courtney → damage → him
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support