James Moffat in the top five after being the guinea pig in Bathurst shootout

James Moffat and co-drover Taz Douglas put the Nissan Altima in fifth on the grid for Sunday’s Bathurst 1000, after braving the wet conditions in the top ten shootout first after setting the tenth fastest time in qualifying.

Moffat was the only Nissan driver to break into the top ten, despite the strong pace also shown by his team-mates this weekend, after setting a quick banker lap early on in qualifying before the rain began to fall.

“The threat of rain was obvious and we knew that getting a solid banker in on the first run might pay off for us, fortunately for us it did and we were able to make the shootout,” said Moffat.

“Being in the shootout is awesome around here, not just for me but for the whole team and all our sponsors and partners. So I’m rapt to get in there and to end up fifth is great.”

Saturday might not be the last of the rain, with storms also forecast to hit Mount Panorama on Sunday, but the 31-year-old who finished second in last year’s dramatic Bathurst 1000 hopes to be on top of any weather situation on race day.

“With tricky conditions forecast for tomorrow we’ll have a talk tonight about which way to go on set up. We’ve got to be on top of our game. Bathurst often throws things at you and we need to make sure we’re on the right tyres at the right time and make the right decisions for 161 laps tomorrow.”