The action from the Bathurst 12 Hours qualifying sessions

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The Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hours is underway and we have all the best pictures from the qualifying sessions for you.

The sessions in brief

With a pair of V8 Supercar regulars joining the teams’ regular GT ace, the #63 SLS AMG driven by Lee Holdsworth, Tim Slade and Peter Hackett took pole position with a 2m06.2730s lap today – a time that was perilously close to the 2m06.0s ‘benchmark’ time that competitors must not exceed in qualifying.

The Mercedes-Benz AMG team’s closest rivals did exceed that mark, however – Allan Simonsen setting a stunning 2m05.5s lap early in the opening session that saw them ‘break out’ and the time disallowed, returning the gull-winged supercar to the top spot.

Erebus’ resident V8 Supercar ace Lee Holdsworth set today’s time – the quickest he’s ever gone around the 6.213km Mountain circuit.

“It’s strange to be going this quick in something that isn’t the V8 Supercar,” Holdsworth said.

“When you do a 2m08 in the V8, you really feel like you’re hanging it out but in this (the SLS AMG) it’s totally different.

“We got very close to the benchmark time and from there it was a case of keeping an eye on everyone else – especially the Ferrari – to see if anyone beat it.

“The car is fantastic and is a really good package and as a team, the three of us are really comfortable so we’re happy.”

The Maranello Motorsport Ferrari that the Danish ace will share with Mika Salo, John Bowe and Peter Edwards will be forced to carry an extra 50kg of weight in the race tomorrow as a penalty, though their second-fastest lap was still good enough to set the #88 car on the front row for tomorrow.

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Keep up on our Bathurst 12 Hour coverage here.

Photos by Sam Tickell, February 2013

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