Bathurst 12 Hour: Sheldon van der Linde’s BMW takes pole

BMW factory driver Sheldon van der Linde has scored pole position in the Repco Bathurst 12 Hour with a blistering lap of 2:01.98s around Mount Panorama.

The South African claimed his first Allan Simonsen Trophy as he delivered BMW’s first pole position at the 12 Hour since 2018.

Van der Linde will share the Shell BMW with Belgians Charles Weerts and Dries Vanthoor in tomorrow’s race.

Supercars star Broc Feeney finished up second in today’s Pirelli Shootout, the second consecutive year where the 21-year old has landed on the front row.

Fellow Queenslander Matt Campbell qualified fourth, while two-time defending race winners SunEnergy1 Racing qualified fifth with Mercedes ace Luca Stolz at the wheel.

Valentino Rossi’s BMW – the sister car of the pole sitter – will start eighth in tomorrow’s enduro classic thanks to the efforts of Belgian Maxime Martin.

“I have massive goosebumps right now,” said 24-year-old Linde, who finished fourth last year and will be competing against his older brother Kelvin in the race.

“To be on pole here in my second running in Bathurst is unexpected for sure.

“My brother is here trying to catch me in the race so the pressure is on.

“There’s a bit of gravel on the side of car so I was really trying to push.”

Qualifying Results – Top-10 Shootout