Q1 and Q2 runners: 2026 Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour

SOME of the pre-race favourites for the Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour will have to go the long way if they want to progress to this afternoon's Pirelli Pole Battle.

After a frantic conclusion to Practice 6, the 17-strong fields for the top and bottom 50% qualifying brackets have been set, with plenty of surprises in both groups.

The first group of 17 cars will feature no less than five of the 15 Pro class entries, including the #26 Arise Ferrari, #61 EBM Porsche, #2 JMR Corvette, and #888 Team GMR Mercedes.

However, perhaps most shocking was the #77 Craft-Bamboo Mercedes, which just 12 months ago claimed the Allan Simonsen Pole Award courtesy of Lucas Auer.

The path to the top 10 runoff in the Pirelli Pole Battle isn't closed for these five combinations, however it gets a whole lot tougher.

Not only will they have to deal with the slower Invitational and GT4 class traffic, but they will also be laying down rubber to grip up the track for the Q2 cars.

Practice 6 was topped by the #222 Mercedes of Cam Waters for the second year in a row, with Q2 to be fought out by 10 Pro entries, five Bronze entries, and two Pro-Am cars.

Qualifying will be held over two half-hour sessions, with Q1 at 1:05pm and Q2 at 1:50pm. The 15-minute Pirelli Pole Battle begins at 4:15pm.