Van der Linde: First night running 'pretty sketchy'

The first night running in Bathurst was “pretty sketchy”, says Friday fast man Kelvin van der Linde.

The first-ever twilight Bathurst 12 Hour session ended a big Friday of practice.

Audi ace van der Linde (#74 Audi) went quickest of all on a 2:03.956s.

Supercars star and fellow Audi driver Chaz Mostert was 0.39s behind.

Audis topped every session on Friday; an Audi also suffered the biggest crash of the day.

The twilight session, which began at 5:05pm local time, quickly dropped into darkness.

It gave drivers and fans a crucial first look at night-time running ahead of Sunday’s race.

The first-ever 12 Hour to be held in May will feature more night racing.

The 2022 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour is not be daylight savings time.

The race will start at 5:15am local time; roughly the first 90 minutes of the race will take place before sunrise.

The sun will also set around 5:00pm AEST, meaning the race will finish at dusk.

"The lap times are a little bit irrelevant at the moment," van der Linde told Supercars.com.

"Night practice, everyone's doing their own programs.

"Good to get a feeling here ahead of shootout day.

"First time driving at night, it's pretty sketchy. You really have to be committed.

"Especially having not been here for two years. They were some interesting laps, but good to get them under my belt.

"Looking at the start, it will be dark, so we're well-prepared. Let's wait and see.”

While the Audis showed their mettle on Friday, a number of key entries were yet to make a move.

Notably, the #888 Triple Eight Mercedes-AMG was set back by a crash for Prince Jefri Ibrahim.

Van der Linde praised the new Pro-Am class system, and was excited to have local knowledge in his corner.

The #74 Audi’s Am driver, Brad Schumacher, is a Bathurst local and topped Practice 2.

“There’s a mix of Pro-Am and Pro, but still some good guys,” van der Linde said of the 2022 field.

“There are some good guys on the Aussie side; Chaz Mostert is here for Audi.

“I think we’re in the hunt. Brad is a local here, he lives just around the corner.

“We’re very lucky to have Brad in the car. He has local knowledge that we’ll lean on.

“He was quick in practice, so hopefully top three, then it’s up to us Pro guys to help get it into the shootout."

Cars will return to the track for Practice 5 at 8:05am local time on Saturday.

Saturday's running will be headlined by two-part qualifying and the Pirelli Shootout.

Tickets for the LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour are on sale now.