De Pasquale quickest in Supercars Practice 1 at rainy SMP

Anton De Pasquale has set the pace in a weather-affected opening Repco Supercars Championship practice session at the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight.

Rain had been falling on and off all day at Sydney Motorsport Park and while drivers started the 40-minute hit-out on wets, times began to tumble when they switched to slicks in the final quarter of an hour.

De Pasquale had hardly figured near the top of the order before he wheeled the #11 Shell V-Power Racing Team entry to a 1:33.2091s well after the chequered flag, edging Team 18’s Mark Winterbottom back to second.

The Walkinshaw Andretti United entries filled third and fourth courtesy of Chaz Mostert and Nick Percat respectively, with Scott Pye making it both Team 18 cars in the top five.

The session began during yet another shower over Eastern Creek, with David Reynolds (#26 Mustang) fastest initially with a 1:42.5468s on his first flyer and a 1:41.6719s next time around.

Lee Holdsworth (#10 Mustang) made it a Penrite Racing one-two when he went to a 1:42.1284s on his fourth lap, while Shane van Gisbergen had an early spin into the mud when he dropped the #97 Red Bull Ampol ZB Commodore over the edge of the track at the final corner.

The Shell V-Power Racing Team’s Will Davison took over the lead when he drove the #17 Mustang to a 1:41.2603s on his second run, then Mostert set a 1:40.9297s in the #25 Mobil 1 Optus ZB Commodore.

Davison hit back immediately with a 1:40.8686s before Tim Slade (#3 CoolDrive Mustang) split them with a 1:40.9256s.

Reynolds would reclaim top spot with a 1:39.4795s on his second run and, after Brodie Kostecki (#99 Boost Mobil ZB Commodore) clocked a 1:40.5339s, Holdsworth was back into second with a 1:40.0316s and then a 1:39.9235s.

The rain had stopped or at least eased by that point and, with the field thus starting to switch to soft slick tyres, the pace rapidly picked up.

Van Gisbergen punched out a 1:38.9669s early in his third run, Davison then set a 1:38.5729s, and van Gisbergen backed up with a 1:35.9299s.

He improved again with a 1:35.6935s, only to be usurped by Todd Hazelwood (#35 Truck Assist ZB Commodore) on a 1:35.5800s and then Davison on a 1:35.5731s.

Van Gisbergen went quicker for the fourth lap in a row when he clocked a 1:34.9626s, but once again Hazelwood beat that moments later, with a 1:34.8720s.

The returning Matt Stone Racing driver went faster again with a 1:34.7117s before Erebus Motorsport’s Will Brown had a period in the ascendancy when he drove the #9 Boost Mobile ZB Commodore to a 1:34.4027s with just over five minutes to go.

Mostert very nearly chucked car #25 off the road when he hit standing water at the final corner, as team-mate Percat (#2 Mobil 1 NTI ZB Commodore) did just that a few metres up the road.

Still Mostert went second with a 1:34.5153s and was on top when he pieced together a 1:33.5442s on his next lap.

Winterbottom took the #18 Irwin Tools ZB Commodore to a 1:33.4033s just before the chequered flag, but De Pasquale was on a hot lap and would move 0.1942s clear of the field.

“Wild,” said De Pasquale of his experience of the session after hopping out of the #11 Mustang.

“Pretty changeable conditions and a lot of little rivers and puddles on the track, so we’re pushing hard on a slick tyre and you’re having big moments and stuff, so it’s an interesting, cool way to start the year.

“Whether it means too much going forward, we don’t know, but we’re all trying pretty hard and having a good time, so it’s good to be back.”

Mostert ended up third while Percat had rebounded with a 1:33.6936s on his final lap which was good enough for fourth all-told.

Pye (#20 Seiko 5 ZB Commodore) finished up 0.5202s off the pace in fifth, ahead of Reynolds, Brown, Holdsworth, and Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries ZB Commodore).

Triple Eight Race Engineering rookie Broc Feeney rounded out the top 10 with a 1:34.0710s in the #88 Red Bull Ampol ZB Commodore, while van Gisbergen was shuffled all the way back to 16th in the end having set a personal-best 1:34.2135s.

Tickford Racing’s best was Cameron Waters in 12th with a 1:34.1317s in the #6 Monster Energy Mustang, while Dick Johnson Racing’s Davison wound up 19th.

Despite a number of offs in the tricky conditions, the session ran uninterrupted.

Practice 2, another 40-minute hit-out, starts this evening at 18:10 local time/AEDT.

Results: Practice 1