2011 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000

The race saw expanded international television coverage with United States-based cable channel Speed broadcast the race live throughout North America,[1] the first time a V8 Supercar race had been televised live on the continent. The network sent its own commentary team, with well-regarded lead Mike Joy, three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip, pit reporters Calvin Fish, and former Network Ten commentator Leigh Diffey (who led Ten's coverage of the race in the late 1990s and early 2000s).[2] The network's decision to broadcast this race, as well as the Gold Coast 600, came on the heels of the series' announcement that it would stage a round in the United States, beginning in 2013.[3]

The race saw the entry of one wildcard, through Kelly Racing's Shannons Supercar Showdown television show. Cameron Waters, one of the drivers of the wildcard entry, would become the youngest ever Bathurst 1000 starter at 17 years, 2 months and 6 days old - beating the previous record (set by Paul Dumbrell in 1999) by 8 days.

No.	Drivers	Team (Sponsor)	Car		No.	Drivers	Team (Sponsor)	Car
1	James Courtney Cameron McConville	Holden Racing Team (Holden, Toll)	Holden Commodore VE		18	James Moffat Matthew Halliday	Dick Johnson Racing (Jim Beam Bonded)	Ford Falcon FG
2	Garth Tander Nick Percat	Holden Racing Team (Holden, Toll)	Holden Commodore VE		19	Jonathon Webb Richard Lyons	Tekno Autosports (Mother Energy)	Ford Falcon FG
3	Tony D'Alberto Dale Wood	Tony D'Alberto Racing (Wilson Security, McGrath)	Ford Falcon FG		21	Karl Reindler David Wall	Britek Motorsport (Fair Dinkum Sheds)	Holden Commodore VE
4	Alex Davison David Brabham	Stone Brothers Racing (Irwin Tools)	Ford Falcon FG		30	Warren Luff Nathan Pretty	Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport (Gulf Western Oil)	Holden Commodore VE
5	Mark Winterbottom Steven Richards	Ford Performance Racing (Orrcon Steel)	Ford Falcon FG		33	Lee Holdsworth Greg Ritter	Garry Rogers Motorsport (Fujitsu)	Holden Commodore VE
6	Will Davison Luke Youlden	Ford Performance Racing (Trading Post)	Ford Falcon FG		34	Michael Caruso Marcus Marshall	Garry Rogers Motorsport (Fujitsu)	Holden Commodore VE
7	Todd Kelly David Russell	Kelly Racing (Jack Daniel's)	Holden Commodore VE		47	Tim Slade Daniel Gaunt	James Rosenberg Racing (Lucky 7 Convenience Stores)	Ford Falcon FG
8	Jason Bright Andrew Jones	Brad Jones Racing (BOC Gas and Gear)	Holden Commodore VE		49	Steve Owen Paul Morris	Paul Morris Motorsport (V.I.P. Petfoods)	Holden Commodore VE
9	Shane van Gisbergen John McIntyre	Stone Brothers Racing (SP Tools)	Ford Falcon FG		55	Paul Dumbrell Dean Canto	Rod Nash Racing (Bottle-O)	Ford Falcon FG
11	Greg Murphy Allan Simonsen	Kelly Racing (Pepsi Max)	Holden Commodore VE		61	Fabian Coulthard Craig Baird	Walkinshaw Racing (Bundaberg Rum: Five)	Holden Commodore VE
12	Dean Fiore Michael Patrizi	Triple F Racing (WesTrac Caterpillar)	Ford Falcon FG		77	Grant Denyer Cameron Waters	Kelly Racing (Shannons, Mars)	Holden Commodore VE
14	Jason Bargwanna Shane Price	Brad Jones Racing (Jana Living)	Holden Commodore VE		88	Jamie Whincup Andrew Thompson	Triple Eight Race Engineering (Vodafone)	Holden Commodore VE
15	Rick Kelly Owen Kelly	Kelly Racing (Jack Daniel's)	Holden Commodore VE		200	Russell Ingall Jack Perkins	Paul Morris Motorsport (Supercheap Auto)	Holden Commodore VE
16	David Reynolds Tim Blanchard	Kelly Racing (Stratco)	Holden Commodore VE		888	Craig Lowndes Mark Skaife	Triple Eight Race Engineering (Vodafone)	Holden Commodore VE
17	Steven Johnson David Besnard	Dick Johnson Racing (Jim Beam Black)	Ford Falcon FG

*Entries with a grey background were wildcard entries which did not compete in the full championship season.

Thursday practice was plagued by rain and rumours over the condition of Dunlop's supply of wet weather tyres.[4] Fog caused the third practice session to be cancelled while the tyre supply situation was clarified.[5]

Tim Slade in the James Rosenberg Racing Falcon was fastest in the first session on Thursday, setting a 2:24.2255 lap time in damp conditions. Slade's Stone Brothers Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen was second fastest ahead of James Moffat. Reigning series champion James Courtney was the fastest Holden, 1.4 seconds behind Slade.[6] The second session, only for co-drivers, was slower and wetter. Ford Performance Racing's Steven Richards was fastest at 2:27.8960, over three seconds behind the previous session. David Besnard (Dick Johnson Racing) was second fastest ahead of the first Holden, David Russell of Kelly Racing who was just ahead of 2010 Bathurst winner, Mark Skaife.

The Friday morning session gained new importance when V8 Supercar series points leader Jamie Whincup crashed at the Cutting, crashing hard enough to bend his car's chassis rails.[7] Cameron McConville took his Holden Racing Team Commodore to the top of the co-driver practice session ahead of Skaife and Richards, with McConville setting a 2:09.8765 in the dry,[8] while Shane van Gisbergen set the fastest time of the meeting thus far at 2:07.6035, ahead of Whincup prior to his crash and Mark Winterbottom,[9] while Brad Jones Racing left the #14 Holden of Jason Bargwanna and Shane Price on the sidelines, changing an engine.[10]

Holden Racing Team's Garth Tander set the fastest lap time during the qualifying session on Friday. Tander set a 2:07.6640 lap time to secure the prime final position in the Top Ten Shootout to be held on Saturday morning. Tander set the time late in the session and was good enough to hold off a last lap effort from Mark Winterbottom. Winterbottom was five hundredths of a second slower than Tander with Jamie Whincup three hundredths further away in his repaired Commodore. David Reynolds and Kelly Racing teammate Greg Murphy climbed up the order on their final laps. Craig Lowndes (Triple Eight Race Engineering), James Courtney, Lee Holdsworth (Garry Rogers Motorsport), Shane van Gisbergen and Steve Owen (Paul Morris Motorsport) secured the other positions in the top ten shootout. Will Davison just missed out on the top ten by five hundredths of a second with his Ford Performance Racing teammate Paul Dumbrell also just missing out in the final moments. Alex Davison (Stone Brothers Racing), Michael Caruso (Garry Rogers Motorsport) and Tim Slade completed the top 15.[11] Following the session, Lee Holdsworth was demoted five grid positions after he missed the scales at the end of qualifying. The penalty sees Will Davison move into the top ten shootout.[12]

29th and last was the Kelly Racing Commodore of TV weather presenter Grant Denyer who made a return to racing after a long layoff to mentor the winner of a reality TV competition aimed at discovering young racing drivers. The winner, Cameron Waters, became the youngest driver to ever compete for the race.[13]

The only serious set-back in qualifying was a last lap crash when Jason Bargwanna hit the wall at the Esses, heavily damaging the front end of his Brad Jones Racing Commodore.[14]

• After 20 of 28 races, the top five positions in the 2011 V8 Supercars Championship drivers standings were as follows:

• Official race website
• Official timing and results
• Official series website