Engine problems forced defending Coates Hire Ipswich 300 winner Craig Lowndes to watch from the sidelines as Tony D’Alberto topped the fifth and final practice session for the V8 Supercars.
The Team Hiflex Falcon jumped from 25th to first by using a new set of soft compound tyres to record a 1:09.41s lap with three of the session’s 30 minutes remaining.
Russell Ingall’s best effort, recorded at the halfway mark, left the Friday pace-setter 0.19s adrift in second.
Will Davison, Fabian Coulthard, Shane van Gisbergen and Steve Owen completed the top six.
Alex Premat ended up seventh after briefly showing the way in the early going, while Mark Winterbottom, Lee Holdsworth and David Reynolds rounded out the top 10.
Lowndes completed just one lap before pitting with engine issues. The TeamVodafone Commodore did not return to the circuit, and will undergo an engine change prior to qualifying.
Jamie Whincup meanwhile had a quiet run in the sister Triple Eight entry, recording just the 14th fastest time.
A 20 minute qualifying for Race 16 will take place at 1325, where the entire field run new soft tyres for the first time this weekend.
See below for the full session result
| 1 | Team Hiflex | Tony D’Alberto | Ford Falcon FG | 1:09.4055 | |
| 2 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:09.5946 | 0:00.1891 |
| 3 | Trading Post FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:09.6140 | 0:00.2085 |
| 4 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:09.6924 | 0:00.2869 |
| 5 | SP Tools Racing | Shane Van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon FG | 1:09.7175 | 0:00.3120 |
| 6 | VIP Petfoods | Steve Owen | Ford Falcon FG | 1:09.7358 | 0:00.3303 |
| 7 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Alexandre Premat | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:09.7715 | 0:00.3660 |
| 8 | Orrcon Steel FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 1:09.7782 | 0:00.3727 |
| 9 | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Falcon FG | 1:09.8125 | 0:00.4070 |
| 10 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 1:09.8224 | 0:00.4169 |
| 11 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:09.8266 | 0:00.4211 |
| 12 | Lucky 7 Racing | Tim Slade | Ford Falcon FG | 1:09.8378 | 0:00.4323 |
| 13 | Jim Beam Racing | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon FG | 1:09.8909 | 0:00.4854 |
| 14 | TeamVodafone | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:09.9269 | 0:00.5214 |
| 15 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:09.9489 | 0:00.5434 |
| 16 | Tekno Autosports | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:09.9528 | 0:00.5473 |
| 17 | TeamVodafone | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:09.9557 | 0:00.5502 |
| 18 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:09.9835 | 0:00.5780 |
| 19 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.0463 | 0:00.6408 |
| 20 | Jim Beam Racing | Dean Fiore | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.1313 | 0:00.7258 |
| 21 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.1820 | 0:00.7765 |
| 22 | Team iSelect | Taz Douglas | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.1967 | 0:00.7912 |
| 23 | Tekno Autosports | Michael Patrizi | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.2053 | 0:00.7998 |
| 24 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.2794 | 0:00.8739 |
| 25 | Team Norton DJR | James Moffat | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.2840 | 0:00.8785 |
| 26 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.3413 | 0:00.9358 |
| 27 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.4325 | 0:01.0270 |
| 28 | Pepsi Max Crew | Jaques Villeneuve | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:10.8143 | 0:01.4088 |
See below for Speedcafe.com’s Coates Hire Ipswich 300 Race Guide
