Kelly fastest in opening Darwin practice

A late effort has seen Rick Kelly return to the head of the timesheets in Practice 1 for the CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown.

The Nissan Motorsport driver sat atop the order after the first runs before Scott McLaughlin held the fastest lap for much of the session.

Kelly moved back into first position in the final four minutes, taking the #15 Castrol Racing Altima around Hidden Valley Raceway in 1:06.5065s.

“You’re not too worried about where you are at the end of Practice 1, you don’t know what tyres everyone’s on,” said the 2017 Saturday Darwin Armor All Pole-sitter post-session.

“The session itself for us was really strong. We tried a lot of stuff there and the car didn’t fall away and we found a couple of things, which we used to our advantage at the end of the session there on that time.”

While Kelly sat in pit lane as the 45-minute session drew to a close, Jamie Whincup assumed second position with a lap 0.1158s slower in the #1 Red Bull HRT ZB Commodore.

“The car was good,” commented the defending Virgin Australia Supercars champion.

“We had a test day last week and the day started off with the car feeling terrible like it has been and we feel like we have made some inroads.

“I don’t want to speak too soon; the car is feeling good and there is a long way to go (in the weekend).

“There is still a long way to go so it is not do or die (in the championship) but I cannot lose any more. There are no concerns and we will keep going. The good thing is everything is in the toolbox.”

Michael Caruso made it two Altimas in the top three with a 1:06.7014s in the #23 Drive Racing entry just before the chequered flag was waved.

David Reynolds was fastest for a brief moment before being usurped initially by Kelly’s ultimate benchmark, and the #9 Penrite ZB Commodore ended the session in fourth.

Shane van Gisbergen went fifth-fastest in the #97 Triple Eight ZB Commodore in the final minute before outbraking himself and sailing off at Turn 1.

Scott McLaughlin jumped from deep in the timesheets to second and then the lead during the second runs with a 1:06.8095s.

He would go no faster in the #17 Shell V-Power FGX Falcon and ended up sixth.

Rounding out the top 10 were Craig Lowndes (#888 Autobarn ZB Commodore), Tim Slade (#14 Freightliner ZB Commodore), Will Davison (#230 Milwaukee ZB Commodore), and James Courtney (#25 Boost Mobile ZB Commodore).

The top 10 all recorded laps in the 1:06s bracket, while all but one of the other 17 hit bests in the 1:07s.

The lead Tickford Racing entry was the #55 Supercheap Auto FGX Falcon of Chaz Mostert in 14th.

James Moffat drove Car #55 for the first run, having just finished Carrera Cup practice, and along with wildcard entrant Macauley Jones was one of two Pirtek Enduro Cup co-drivers to cut laps.

Jones was one of several to run off the track at Turn 1, most of whom were behind the wheel of ZB Commodores.

He was in fact one of three Brad Jones Racing drivers seen to leave the road at that location, with team-mates Slade and Nick Percat both experiencing noticeable vibrations in the front bar.

“We’re not the only ones who have got a bit of flap going on down the end of the straights,” said team owner Brad Jones.

“It’s really just a matter of adjusting the car. It’s really difficult to know how much front downforce you can get away with.

“We’ll just adjust the car and trim it up and hopefully get it so it’s not a problem in the race.”

Fabian Coulthard was second-fastest after his fourth lap but went no quicker thereafter and ended the hit-out 15th in the #12 DJR Team Penske FGX Falcon.

Another 45-minute practice session follows at 1510 local time/1540 AEST.

Results: Supercars CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown Practice 1