Love leads Carrera Cup practice at Bathurst

Aaron Love fired his first warning shot at Mount Panorama today, topping Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia practice.

The Sonic Motor Racing Services driver clocked a 2:06.6044s in the 40-minute session, an effort which put him nearly half a second clear of Wall Racing’s David Wall.

CHE Racing’s Cameron Hill rounded out the top three, his lap six-and-a-half tenths adrift of the top time.

Harri Jones, David Russell, Dale Wood, Matthew Payne, Max Vidau, Cooper Murray, and Simon Fallon completed the top 10.

Rain threatened throughout, with showers cooling the circuit with 15 minutes remaining.

The times quickly improved in the final quarter of the session, ultimately ending with Love leading proceedings.

“It was quite a positive session,” said Love.

“We made some good headway with the car, but it’s good to know we have the pace early on, not only at the beginning of the session on a used tyre but also at the end on the new tyre.

“I’m sure the weather conditions created some interesting viewing for the spectators at the top.

“We were here a couple weeks ago with Bathurst Challenge so we had a decent reference to go off and have a dip, but it was also good to keep a little in our pockets and know we can push that margin heading into qualifying tomorrow.”

The session ran without much drama, the only notable incident involving Murray who got in Wall’s way at Murray’s Corner.

Wall, who was on a flying lap, locked up on the run down to the final corner, costing him time.

Qualifying takes place on Thursday at 11:20 local time/AEDT, which sees a unique format for the double-header weekend.

Each drivers’ fastest time will set the grid for the opening race of Round 4 tomorrow while their second fastest lap will determine the grid for the first race of Round 5 on Saturday.

Results: Practice, Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia