Dean Fiore has shown the way in the penultimate V8 Supercars practice session of the day at Winton Motor Raceway.
The Dick Johnson Racing Ford driver set a 1:24.01s on just his third lap of the 30 minute session that proved unbeatable.
Alexandre Premat, whose Garry Rogers Motorsport team tests at the rural Victorian circuit, repeated his effort from both Practice 1 and 2 by clocking the second fastest time.
Jason Bright ran just six laps in the first full-field hit-out of the day for third ahead of Jamie Whincup, James Moffat and Craig Lowndes.
The TeamVodafone duo both concentrated on long runs rather than outright speed, completing unbroken 15 and 16 lap spells respectively following the green flag. Lowndes’ run eventually ended with a trip through the grass at Turn 7.
David Reynolds also had an early off in the form of a wild spin at the exit of Turn 10 on his way to seventh fastest.
Secure your spot today.
Steve Owen, Tony D’Alberto and Michael Caruso completed the top 10, with Ford Performance Racing’s headline duo Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison just 11th and 15th respectively.
It was an even tougher outing for Kelly Racing, with Greg Murphy, Rick Kelly and Tim Blanchard filling the bottom three places on the time sheet.
Murphy has been struggling for front-end balance under brakes since the start of the first session this morning, while Kelly noted that his car had “turn-in oversteer and then massive understeer” at the end of his final Practice 3 run.
The fourth and final session of the day is scheduled to get underway at 1500 local time.
Result: V8 Supercars Practice 3, Winton Motor Raceway
| 1 | Jim Beam Racing | Dean Fiore | Ford Falcon FG | 1:24.0055 | |
| 2 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Alexandre Premat | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.1689 | 0:00.1634 |
| 3 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.2152 | 0:00.2097 |
| 4 | TeamVodafone | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.2232 | 0:00.2177 |
| 5 | Team Norton DJR | James Moffat | Ford Falcon FG | 1:24.2389 | 0:00.2334 |
| 6 | TeamVodafone | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.2932 | 0:00.2877 |
| 7 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 1:24.3008 | 0:00.2953 |
| 8 | VIP Petfoods | Steve Owen | Ford Falcon FG | 1:24.3442 | 0:00.3387 |
| 9 | Team Hiflex | Tony D’Alberto | Ford Falcon FG | 1:24.3748 | 0:00.3693 |
| 10 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.3776 | 0:00.3721 |
| 11 | Orrcon Steel FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 1:24.4521 | 0:00.4466 |
| 12 | Jim Beam Racing | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon FG | 1:24.4530 | 0:00.4475 |
| 13 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.4610 | 0:00.4555 |
| 14 | Tekno Autosports | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.4671 | 0:00.4616 |
| 15 | Trading Post FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:24.4923 | 0:00.4868 |
| 16 | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Falcon FG | 1:24.5343 | 0:00.5288 |
| 17 | Lucky 7 Racing | Tim Slade | Ford Falcon FG | 1:24.5450 | 0:00.5395 |
| 18 | Tekno Autosports | Michael Patrizi | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.5610 | 0:00.5555 |
| 19 | SP Tools Racing | Shane Van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon FG | 1:24.6234 | 0:00.6179 |
| 20 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.6477 | 0:00.6422 |
| 21 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.8440 | 0:00.8385 |
| 22 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.8719 | 0:00.8664 |
| 23 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.9196 | 0:00.9141 |
| 24 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.9232 | 0:00.9177 |
| 25 | Team iSelect | Taz Douglas | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:24.9874 | 0:00.9819 |
| 26 | Pepsi Max Crew | Greg Murphy | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:25.0076 | 0:01.0021 |
| 27 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:25.0522 | 0:01.0467 |
| 28 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:25.0525 | 0:01.0470 |
See below for Speedcafe.com’s Winton Race Guide
