Payne leads way for provisional Bathurst 1000 pole

Young Supercars star Matt Payne is adamant he isn’t stressed about converting his Bathurst 1000 provisional pole into the real deal.

Leaning on the advice of five-time Bathurst winner and co-driver Garth Tander, prodigious Grove Racing driver Payne blitzed the grid on Friday by six thousandths of a second to top the qualifying session at Mount Panorama.

He will have a chance to claim the coveted front-row position when he goes out as the last driver in the top-10 shootout at 5.05pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

But the 22-year-old New Zealander will have to fend off fellow prodigy Broc Feeney, championship leader Will Brown, two-time Bathurst winner Chaz Mostert, and a red-hot Cam Waters for pole.

Payne is confident he can do just that.

“We proved that we could do the lap today and we’re all going to find a little bit overnight,” Payne said.

“It’s about who puts the best lap down in the session so I don’t think (winning provisional pole) changes anything.

“I’m just going to go out there and go through my procedure and see what comes of it.”

A partnership with the experienced Tander has helped the emerging star keep a level head before the great race.

“We were talking throughout the (qualifying) session and he gave me a couple of tips,” Payne said.

“It’s been good to have him this weekend. We’ve come in here with a lot of preparation for this race.”

With two practice sessions scheduled before the shootout, the Triple Eight team have turned their attention to a vibration issue with third-placed Feeney’s Chevrolet Camaro.

Team boss and Feeney’s co-driver Jamie Whincup suspects it is an issue with the car’s body.

“We have to find it. It’s a long day, six and a half hours with vibration,” four-time Bathurst winner and seven-time Supercars champion Whincup said.

“It’s a low harmonic so it must be bodywork.”

Feeney, whose last visit to the mountain ended in heartbreak, insists falling short of provisional pole won’t keep him from claiming a front-row spot.

The 21-year-old was left in tears last year after experiencing gearbox issues on lap 137 when he and Whincup were placed second before finishing 23rd.

“All of us are going to give it a crack tomorrow afternoon,” Feeney said.

“Five minutes of the day is not going to change our life. It’s going to come down to who does a good lap.”

BATHURST 1000 PROVISIONAL QUALIFYING

1. Matt Payne (Grove Racing)

2. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing)

3. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)

4. Brodie Kostecki (Erebus Motorsport)

5. Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering)

6. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United)

7. Andre Heimgartner (Brad Jones Racing)

8. Jack Le Brocq (Erebus Motorsport)

9. Anton De Pasquale (Dick Johnson Racing)

10. Richie Stanaway (Grove Racing).