Motorsport: Lowndes on target for 'pay day'

Craig Lowndes, winner of the Sandown 500 last month, put Ford at the front of the field for the Bathurst 1000 tomorrow after a rain-affected V8 Supercar qualifying at Mt Panorama yesterday.

Lowndes, winner in 1996 with Greg Murphy in a Holden, will team with European star Yvan Muller in a bid to give Ford their first win since 1998.

He will contest the top 10 shootout today to determine the final starting order at the front of the grid.

"The car was good at the top of the mountain but we could make some improvement elsewhere," said Lowndes. "Tomorrow's pay day after all."

Behind him in qualifying were Mark Skaife, who was 0.4s slower in his Holden and 0.2s ahead of third-placed Marcos Ambrose in his championship-leading Ford.

Murphy, who admitted his quick lap was the best he could have managed, was fifth - a comfortable position in his bid to complete a hat-trick of wins. He will share the driving in his Holden with Paul Weel.

One of the stars of the show was former New Zealand touring car champion Jason Richards. Fresh from a third-place finish at the Sandown 500 in the Tasman Motorsport Holden, he was eighth-fastest in the morning practice and then qualified seventh.

Richards, who teams with Jamie Whincup, admitted that his quickest lap was pretty much on the limit.

"My whole focus is to peak on Sunday," he said. "Being in the top 10 is good for publicity and it probably allows you to stay out of trouble at the start.

"But if you want to win a race as long as this you've got to have a fast car in one piece for the last driving stint."

Despite qualifying only 20th, Paul Radisich was confident that he would have a car which would be competitive in the long race.

Team Kiwi have joined forces with Paul Morris Motorsport for Bathurst and Radisich and Morris are teamed together.

Morris did most of the qualifying in the car he drives during the regular championship races. Radisich had just got into the car when the rain came.

"We're disappointed our pace isn't quite there," said Radisich, "but we'll have our best engine in tonight and I think it will be on for a podium finish."

A good finish would be a special birthday present for the Kiwi, who turns 43 on race day. He has twice previously finished second at Bathurst in a Ford. This will be his first race over the mountain in a Holden.

One New Zealand driver, Mark Porter, had an early taste of racing when he finished sixth in the first of the second-level Supercar races in a Ford. He will drive in the main event with fellow Kiwi Kayne Scott in a Holden. They qualified 30th.

Simon Wills, who will drive a Holden with Max Wilson, qualified 18th, Craig Baird, who is teamed with David Besnard, was 19th, Matt Halliday and Alain Menu 22nd and Fabian Coulthard and Tony D'Alberto 25th.

The race starts tomorrow at 1pm (NZT) and should take around 6h 30m. The forecast is for mainly fine weather.