Throughout the second practice session for Dunlop Super2/3, it was Aaron Love in the Petronas Ford Mustang who was the pace-setter on the wet streets of the Vailo Adelaide 500.
His best time in the soggy conditions was 1:31.361s which was almost half a second better than his nearest rival. That was Kai Allen in the end as the Eggleston Motorsport driver posted his fastest lap after the chequered flag came out.
In another stunning Super 3 performance, Cameron McLeod was third quickest in Brad Neill’s Nissan Altima. After languishing well out of the top 10 for the first half of the 40-minute session, Super 2 Series leader Zak Best brought the Anderson Motorsport Mustang up to fourth spot.
EMS’ Cameron Crick was another who left his best to last and was able to pip Tickford Racing’s Brad Vaughan (Mustang), Aaron Seton (Commodore), Zane Morse (Mustang), and fastest in Practice 1, Super3’s Mason Kelly (Nissan).
It was much of the same weather-wise as the first practice session. Love was quickly on song to go under the time Kelly set in the morning. Love was ahead of WAU’s Ryan Wood (Commodore) before the Super3 Nissan drivers again showed their prowess in the wet conditions with third and fifth times for McLeod and Kelly respectively.
Love was still the session’s fastest at the halfway mark from Wood with WAU Commodore team-mate Zach Bates third. Then came McLeod, Jordan Boys (Commodore), Kelly, Allen, Vaughan, Cooper Murray and Lochie Dalton in Commodores. Best languished in 16th and Morse was 21st.
Love was able to go faster in the second half while his nearest rivals became the Super3 Nissans where Kelly and McLeod jumped to second and third for a spell.
By the end of the session, Lochie Dalton (Commodore) had moved into eighth of the Super2 runners, ahead of Nash Morris (Commodore), Bates and Matt Chahda (Commodore). Boys finished the session 14th and Wood 16th.
Rylan Gray (Tickford Ford Falcon FG/X) pitted early to have the wayward left rear door secured before he went third in Super3, 1.1s behind Kelly and ahead of Jett Johnson (Nissan) and series leader Jobe Stewart (Commodore VF).