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The dust has settled on Mount Panorama, and I feel we were reminded why the Bathurst 1000 is called The Great Race!
To finish inside the top five at Bathurst is something I’m incredibly proud of. If you told me at the start of the week that we’d make the Shootout and finish top five, I'd have said that sounds damn good to me!
Things kicked off on Thursday with plenty of laps completed across practice. We felt like the car had rolled out strong, which gave us confidence heading into Qualifying on Friday.
Qualifying at the mountain is an intense affair. In each run on new tyres, you find a bit more pace and get closer to the walls, but you always breathe a sigh of relief when you finish each lap.
It was a tough session, but we just squeezed through to the Top 10 Shootout by putting the #4 Supaglass Chevrolet Camaro in eighth on my final lap – the margin of provisional pole to 10th was the tightest in Bathurst history.
To make the shootout at the Bathurst 1000 is certainly something us drivers all dream of doing. Having this iconic circuit to yourself and putting everything into one lap is a real privilege.
My shootout lap was tidy, but probably kept a bit up my sleeve and we maintained our 8th place from qualifying. I was glad we would be starting the great race from the fourth row with the car in perfect condition.
Come race day, the weather threw everything at us in what ended up being one of the all-time Bathurst Great Races. It was wet, wild, and very unpredictable!
We faced plenty of adversity throughout the 161 laps, including a 15-second penalty. But when it mattered, we were in a good position and the car was really strong.
It was special to record both mine and the team’s best-ever result in Bathurst. Cammy McLeod did a great job in the car, the crew were outstanding all weekend, and it was unreal to have so many supporters come through the garage and cheer us on. It really means a lot.
And while it is disappointing to miss out on the Finals by just three points, I couldn’t be prouder of what we achieved as a team.
There are always a million ‘what-ifs’ when you come so close, but this result shows how far we’ve come and what we’re capable of.
Massive thanks to everyone at Matt Stone Racing, Supaglass, and all our amazing supporters.
See you on the Gold Coast!
