Best fastest in opening Super2 practice at Newcastle

Zak Best ended the opening Dunlop Super2 Series practice session of the weekend fastest around the streets of Newcastle.

The Ford Mustang driver headed Kai Allen at the end of a 50-minute hit out that was twice interrupted by red flags.

Jack Perkins was third fastest, while Jobe Stewart topped the Super3 pack.

Rookie running

The opening 10 minutes session was restricted to rookies, a total of 16 drivers across both Super2 and Super3.

On the run-up Watt Street, Lochie Dalton ran deep at Turn 2, Cops, parking in the escape road before getting back on track.

The top end of the timesheets was a fruit machine in the early minutes, Ryan Wood emerging fastest after his first flying lap with a 1:17.0933s.

Brad Vaughan went fastest after an aggressive lap which saw him run wide exiting the hairpin towards the end of the lap, getting out into the grey and gently brushing the wall as the rear stepped out in protest.

He managed a 1:16.1687s which was quickly bested by Wood who improved to 1:15.7120s.

The rookie benchmark was lowered further to 1:15.5423s by Cooper Murray.

Aaron Love had been in the lane, the inside wall of one of his left-rear tyre damaged by suspected overuse of the kerbs.

All in

After 10 minutes, the remainder of the field ventured out.

There was a moment for Jason Gomersall who missed his braking marker at Cops, taking to the escape road.

He was followed in by Chris Smerdon, with Gomersall rolling back down the hill towards the race track, colliding with a fence and damaging the rear of the Commodore in the process.

Two-thirds of a lap ahead, Wood punched a brake at Turn 12, pulling out of the left-hander and turning right through the run-off to avoid the wall.

A locked brake for Ryan Gilroy saw the #89 run deep into the first corner, heading into the escape road.

Gomersall was again in the wars when Jay Hanson looked to move past the Commodore driver only for the door to be shut.

Red flag

With 31 minutes remaining, Aaron Seton nosed into the tyres exiting Turn 6 to draw the red flag.

The third-generation racer took too much kerb, sending him wide, burying the nose under the tyre wall.

Under the stoppage, Gomersall’s session came to an end when the team was able to assess the damage to the rear wing on his car.

The damage from rolling into the barrier at Cops had damaged the boot lid that was unable to latch as a result.

Throughout the red flag, the clock continued to tick down, restarting with just over 23 minutes remaining.

Green flag

Once running resumed, Best improved on his earlier effort to record a 1:13.3894s, leaving him 0.6745s quicker than Vaughan.

Jett Johnson sat as the leading Super3 driver, 15th overall with a 1:15.6527s.

With 16 minutes to run, Perkins slotted into second with a 1:13.8056s moments after Gilroy again found the escape road at Turn 1.

Kai Allen then bumped Perkins to slot into second-best with a 1:13.6396s.

Conditions were improving but remained slippery, Zane Morse lucky to stay out of the fence at Turn 6 after getting too much kerbing.

Second interruption

The sessions’ second red flag was called when Vaughan parked his car in the escape road at Cops.

He’d locked the rear wheels, at turn-in to slide long, getting stuck when trying to get the car back on track.

The session did not resume, officials opting to declare it with three minutes remaining.

That left Best at the top of the timesheets from Allen and Perkins, with Jobe Stewart the fastest of the Super3 runners.

The Super2 Series returns to the streets of Newcastle at 12:50 AEDT for another 40 minutes of practice – the category’s final running before qualifying on Saturday morning.

Results: Practice 1