De Pasquale quickest in Supercars Practice 2 before rain

Anton De Pasquale has pipped Will Brown in Practice 2 for Supercars’ Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight with a hot lap set just as rain started falling.

De Pasquale went just over a tenth of a second faster than he had done in setting the pace in Practice 1 on the night prior, by driving the #11 Shell V-Power Racing Team Mustang to a 1:29.8516s.

Erebus Motorsport’s Brown finished 0.1020s off the pace in the #9 Shaw And Partners ZB Commodore, with championship leader Shane van Gisbergen rebounding from a “woeful” previous session to put his Red Bull Ampol Racing entry third on the timesheet.

The session began under grey skies at Sydney Motorsport Park but, without rain having yet fallen, everyone rolled out on hard slicks, per this weekend’s supplementary regulations.

De Pasquale set a 1:30.6959s on his first flying lap which was 0.0779s than next-best, namely Erebus’s Brodie Kostecki (#99 Boost Mobile ZB Commodore).

On their second runs, Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Mustang) moved the benchmark to a 1:30.5141s and then Jamie Whincup (#88 Red Bull Ampol ZB Commodore) to a 1:30.3517s in quick succession.

Chaz Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Appliances Online ZB Commodore) improved to third on a 1:30.5432s on his second run proper, before Tim Slade (#3 CoolDrive Mustang) took up second spot on a 1:30.4458s.

Van Gisbergen was only 18th-fastest he fired in a 1:30.0956s in the #97 ZB Commodore in the 19th minute, despite missing the apex at the Turn 8 hairpin.

That was the best anyone had done in the session until De Pasquale reclaimed the ascendancy in the 21st minute with a 1:30.0255s on his third run.

Amid reports of sprinkling rain in the pits, Brown then used green tyres to drive Car #9 to a 1:29.9536s, before third was taken up by Slade on a 1:30.0715s and van Gisbergen on a 1:30.0386s.

De Pasquale still had more speed in the final minute before the chequered flag, laying down the 1:29.8516s despite failing to improve in the third sector.

That could well have been explained by the fact that the rain had just started to fall in a meaningful way, which may have cost a few drivers a better lap time.

There was also a wild moment for Matt Stone Racing’s Jake Kostecki (#34 Unit ZB Commodore) when he slid off at Moffat Corner (Turn 1) right at the end.

Behind the top three of De Pasquale, Brown, and van Gisbergen all-told was Slade in fourth, from Brodie Kostecki on a 1:30.1164s, Davison on a 1:30.1916s, and Whincup on a 1:30.1999s.

Rounding out the top 10 were Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Mostert, Team 18’s Scott Pye (#20 DeWalt ZB Commodore), and Tickford Racing’s Jack Le Brocq (#5 Truck Assist Mustang).

Brad Jones Racing’s Nick Percat (#8 R&J Batteries ZB Commodore) took 11th and Tickford’s Cameron Waters (#6 Monster Energy Mustang) ended up 16th.

James Courtney (#44 Boost Mobile Mustang) reportedly suffered a long brake pedal in the third Tickford entry as he wound up 19th-quickest.

Qualifying for Race 29 starts at 13:40 local time/AEDT, although the grid will not be finalised until a Top 10 Shootout from 16:35 local time/AEDT.

Results: Practice 2