Fullwood tops opening Bathurst Super2 practice

Bryce Fullwood has finished fastest in a Dunlop Super2 Series for the first time as practice commenced ahead of Saturday’s 250km enduro race at Mount Panorama.

Fullwood took top spot off series leader Paul Dumbrell after the chequered flag, with fellow title contender Todd Hazelwood third-fastest in the 15-car field.

Fullwood has threatened to go fastest earlier in the 40-minute session and was the fourth and final-placed man in the 2:07s bracket before the final laps.

The Darwin native then took the #16 Middys Electrical MWM Altima to position one with a 2:07.5259.

That effort edged Dumbrell by less than half a tenth of a second.

The 2012 Bathurst 1000 winner was classified fastest for the majority of the session, in two separate periods, in the #88 Eggleston Motorsport VF Commodore.

Hazelwood also spent time at the top of the timing screen, after the first timed laps and then for the five minutes to the half-hour mark when he was the first man to break into the 2:07s.

He survived a nervous moment in the dying stages when the #35 Matt Stone Racing VF Commodore oversteered on the run up to Reid Park and so very nearly scraped the wall.

Jack Le Brocq (#28 MW Motorsport Nissan Altima) finished fourth, while Macauley Jones (#14 Brad Jones Racing VF Commodore) was the other man to hold the fastest lap during the session before settling in fifth.

His team-mate Andrew Jones (#8 VF Commodore) was sixth-fastest, ahead of Jack Perkins (#4 Dragon Motor Racing VF Commodore), Will Brown (#38 Eggleston Motorsport VF Commodore), and Mason Barbera (#99 Garry Rogers Motorsport VF Commodore).

The Kostecki brothers Kurt and Jake, the only two-driver entry this weekend, rounded out the top 10 in their #55 VF Commodore.

The session was largely incident-free, with just minor offs at The Chase for Matt Chahda and Andrew Jones.

Another 40-minute practice session will be held tomorrow from 1040 local time/AEDT, ahead of Armor All Qualifying in the afternoon.

Results: Practice 1