Bathurst 12 Hour: Aston penalty helps GruppeM Mercedes to pole

Dennis, in the R-Motorsport Aston Martin, dominated the single-lap Shootout with a 2m02.494s, a full 0.4s clear of the entire field.

While that means he's secured the Allan Simonsen Trophy, the #62 Vantage won't be starting tomorrow's race from pole.

A two-place grid penalty for speeding in pitlane during regular qualifying means that the GruppeM Mercedes will head the field instead.

Marciello was another star of the Shootout in the GruppeM entry, making up a total of eight spots on his regular qualifying position to snatch pole.

The front row will be all Mercedes, with Maro Engel putting the #77 Craft-Bamboo AMG third for the session and second thanks to the penalty.

With the Aston Martin in third, the outside of the second row will be the #107 M-Sport Bentley, Steven Kane making two spots on his original qualifying effort.

David Reynolds dropped three spots to slip back to fifth, however the #777 Erebus Mercedes was still the best of the Pro-Am cars.

Kelvin van der Linde's lap started in wild fashion, the South African running wide at Hell Corner and leaving himself with plenty to do over the top of the mountain. However he recovered well, putting the #22 Audi sixth on the grid, a spot better than he managed earlier today.

Matt Campbell put the #912 EBM Porsche seventh on the grid, losing time in the final sector after going purple in the second, while Yelmer Buurman lost four spots compared to regular qualifying to grab eighth on the grid.

Christopher Haase dropped a couple of spots in the #2 Audi to qualify ninth, while Alex Imperatori was unable to improve on his regular qualifying position in the #18 KCMG Nissan, which means the outside of the fifth row tomorrow morning.