Waters soars, Andrews stuns as #32 BMW misses out in qualifying

CAM Waters has soared to provisional pole for the 2026 Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour for Scott Taylor Motorsport and Mercedes-AMG, in a qualifying session of shocks and surprises.

Just one car from Q1, 2025 pole sitter Lucas Auer, reached the Pirelli Pole Battle as Waters led the Pro-Am Geyer Valmont Racing/Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG of Scott Andrews.

Broc Feeney put the #64 HRT Ford Mustang into third ahead of Luca Stolz (#75 75 Express-AMG) and Jayden Ojeda (#6 Mercedes-AMG Team Tigani Motorsport).

Christopher Haase (#55 Jamec Racing/Team MPC Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II), Raffaele Marciello (#46 WRT BMW), Auer (#77 Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG), Matt Campbell (#911 Absolute Porsche) and Marco Mapelli (#93 Wall Racing Lamborghini) rounded out the top 10.

The session was a nightmare for some; notably, Maro Engel was only 31st after a power issue for the #888 Mercedes-AMG Team GMR entry in Q1, Kai Allen's #100 Penrite Mercedes-AMG was 21st after losing a wheel, and the defending champion #32 WRT BMW was only 12th.

Laurin Heinrich, who was second in Q1, ended up 15th in the #61 EBM Porsche.

There were no Ferraris in the top 10, with five Mercedes, one Ford, one Audi, one BMW, one Porsche and one Lamborghini to battle it out for the Allan Simonsen Pole Trophy from 4:15pm local time.

Arise Racing Ferrari's Jaxon Evans kicked off Q1 with a 2:10.1285s, which was lowered by Ryan Wood's 2:07.9122s in the #193 Ziggo Sport Tempesta by ARGT Ferrari, and Bryce Fullwood's 2:04.8674s in the #14 Volante Rosso Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3.

From there, it was the Laurin Heinrich show. The German reeled off a 2:03.1784s, a 2:03.0050s, a 2:02.6685s and a 2:02.3887s to consolidate top spot.

Heinrich got out of the #61 Porsche with 10 minutes to go, as Earl Bamber took over the #2 Corvette and fired into second with a 2:03.0971s. David Russell (#47 Supabarn Supermarkets/Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG) and Alfred Renauer (#21 Herberth Motorsport Porsche) fill out the top three before the final laps.

2025 pole-sitter Auer, with four minutes remaining, made his presence felt with a 2:02.1713s in the #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing entry. On his next lap, Auer nailed a 2:01.9715s, going 0.4s clear of Heinrich.

As the chequered flag flew, Wood and Evans made it a Ferrari 3-4, with Dylan O'Keeffe and Russell the only drivers within a second of Auer's benchmark.

However, the biggest story out of Q1 was the misfortune of Engel, which has left the #888 Team GMR Mercedes of Engel, Maxime Martin, and Mikael Grenier buried all the way back in 31st on the grid. They will need to shatter records to chase victory tomorrow: no one has ever won the 12 Hour from further back than 11th on the grid.

After 15 minutes, the top 50% from Practice 6 rolled out, chasing 2025 pole sitter Auer's big benchmark.

As track conditions improved, the times tumbled. Alex Peroni, Waters and Andrews jumped into the top 10 early on, before Mapelli nailed a 2:02.0248s to move into second, just 0.07s down on Auer.

Waters lowered the overall number to a 2:01.8894s as the WRT BMWs finally rolled out of pit lane. Haase, meanwhile, bowled a wide exiting The Chase, and sat 23rd when the red flags flew.

All three BMWs and the 75 Express Mercedes-AMG hadn't logged a representative lap time, setting up a tense run to the chequered flag. Allen, meanwhile, lost his fastest time and watched on as Grove Racing mechanics worked on the #100 Mercedes-AMG in the paddock.

As the session resumed, Haase continued the #55 Audi's good form, soaring to top spot with a 2:01.8804s. Waters returned to the track as times began to tumble, with Auer and Heinrich the only Q1 runners in a provisional Pole Battle position ahead of the final runs.

From nowhere, Andrews nailed a 2:01.6706s to go to the top, with Stolz second on a 2:01.7565s. All the while, Allen was sent back out onto the track.

Feeney went fastest in the first sector, and set about securing a top 10 spot. Bumped to 11th, Feeney clocked a 2:01.6875s to move to second. Supercars rival Waters, though, returned serve with a 2:01.5631s.

Allen was unable to improve from 21st, with 19 cars within a second of Waters' time.

The top 10 cars will fight for the Allan Simonsen Pole Trophy in the Pirelli Pole Battle from 4:15pm local time.