Fabian Coulthard led a one-two for Brad Jones Racing as the intensity increased in the final session prior to qualifying at the Clipsal 500.
The Lockwood Holden moved to the top as the chequered flag waved, with the Kiwi’s 1:20.44s good enough to withstand a late reply from previous fast-man Jason Bright.
Lee Holdsworth ended the session with two times that were good enough for third fastest in an encouraging turn of speed from the #4 Erebus Mercedes.
Craig Lowndes, Rick Kelly, Jamie Whincup, Tim Slade, Scott McLaughlin, Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert ensured that all five marques were represented in the top 10.
After two relatively trouble-free sessions, several tagged the scenery as they upped the ante in Practice 3.
Garth Tander made side-on contact with the Turn 8 exit wall on his first flying lap and took no further part in the session.
“It wasn’t in the session plan but it’s one of those things,” Tander told Speedcafe.com afterward.
“It just understeered at Turn 8 and did a fair bit of damage to the lower control arm and steering arm.
“If we really wanted to and hustled it we could have had the car back out in the session, but we’ll just take our time and get back out for qualy.”
Will Davison and James Moffat both clipped the Turn 1 tyre bundle during the session, with the latter’s car missing the final 10 minutes as a result
Scott Pye meanwhile found the barriers at the exit of Turn 6 and also missed the closing stages.
The first red flag of the day was called with 11 minutes left for debris on the circuit.
The V8 Supercars will return to the track for qualifying from 1500.
See below for the full Practice 3 result
| 1 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VF | 01:20.44 | |
| 2 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 01:20.54 | 00:00.10 |
| 3 | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Lee Holdsworth | Mercedes E63 AMG | 01:20.64 | 00:00.20 |
| 4 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 01:20.74 | 00:00.30 |
| 5 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 01:20.75 | 00:00.31 |
| 6 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 01:20.77 | 00:00.33 |
| 7 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 01:20.85 | 00:00.41 |
| 8 | Valvoline Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Volvo S60 | 01:20.88 | 00:00.44 |
| 9 | Walkinshaw Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 01:20.92 | 00:00.48 |
| 10 | Ford Pepsi Max Crew | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | 01:20.94 | 00:00.50 |
| 11 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 01:21.00 | 00:00.56 |
| 12 | Ford Pepsi Max Crew | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 01:21.00 | 00:00.56 |
| 13 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 01:21.08 | 00:00.64 |
| 14 | Team Tekno VIP Petfoods | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 01:21.14 | 00:00.70 |
| 15 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 01:21.18 | 00:00.75 |
| 16 | Wilson Security Racing | Scott Pye | Ford Falcon FG | 01:21.21 | 00:00.77 |
| 17 | Norton Hornets | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 01:21.23 | 00:00.79 |
| 18 | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Will Davison | Mercedes E63 AMG | 01:21.33 | 00:00.89 |
| 19 | Team JELD-WEN | Jack Perkins | Ford Falcon FG | 01:21.35 | 00:00.91 |
| 20 | Repair Management Aust Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VF | 01:21.40 | 00:00.96 |
| 21 | Norton Hornets | James Moffat | Nissan Altima | 01:21.51 | 00:01.07 |
| 22 | Team Advam/GB | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VF | 01:21.52 | 00:01.09 |
| 23 | Valvoline Racing GRM | Robert Dahlgren | Volvo S60 | 01:21.57 | 00:01.13 |
| 24 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Ford Falcon FG | 01:21.60 | 00:01.17 |
| 25 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF |
*For a full preview and armchair guide to this weekend’s Clipsal 500 click here
*Don’t forget to get a team together for the Castrol V8 Predictor – V8 Supercars’ #1 tipping
