Whincup: Bathurst pole 'doesn't mean anything'

Whincup held his nerve running last in today's Top 10 Shootout, going 0.06s faster than Volvo's Scott McLaughlin to secure pole position for he and co-driver Paul Dumbrell.

But while the six-time series champion and four-times Bathurst winner acknowledges how special it is to take pole for Australia's biggest race, he says in the scheme of the race itself it doesn't really matter.

"In reality, I don't want to kill the mood or anything, there is a lot of hype and it's all good stuff – but it doesn't really mean anything," he said.

"Tomorrow is the big day. I'm happy for it to be all fun an exciting, but we've just qualified for the big race. There are no points for qualifying on pole."

Dumbrell, already a Bathurst winner alongside Whincup thanks to their 2012 success, echoed his co-driver's thoughts.

"As Jamie said, it's a six or seven hour race. The weather can change so much. We have to make sure we have a quick car for the last half of the race, or last quarter of the race, versus the first half," he said.

"You can't win the race in the first hour or two hours, but you can certainly lose it. We have to make sure we focus on the end game."

Dumbrell added that he isn't fussed whether or not he'll take the start tomorrow, although admitted it would be a honour to line up on the front row given that it's the 10th anniversary of the death of Bathurst legend Peter Brock.

"I get told what to do," he said. "I'll probably go the team debrief tonight and they'll tell me, and then they'll probably change their mind tomorrow morning as well. So, you know, it is what it is.

"I've done enough races around here. If I'm asked to [start], I'll do the best job I can. As I said, you can't win it on the first lap. We'll make sure we keep that in mind.

"It would be an honour, 10 years since Peter Brock's passing. It would be phenomenal. But at the end of the day, I'm focussing on about 5:30 tomorrow afternoon."