Marc Lieb leads the way in first co-driver practice

Tekno Autosports’ German import Marc Lieb has recorded the fastest time in a relatively trouble-free opening practice session for the international co-drivers at the Armor All Gold Coast 600.

Sebastien Bourdais set the early pace in TeamVodafone’s #1 Holden, sitting at the top of the sheets for the opening 35 of the 40 minutes.

IRWIN Racing’s Simon Pagenaud then displaced his fellow Frenchman with a pair of fast laps inside the final five minutes, before Lieb trumped the pair of them with a 1:13.06s effort on his final lap.

This year marks Lieb’s second consecutive appearance on the Gold Coast after competing in the IRWIN Ford last year.

Nick Heidfeld joined Lieb in setting his best time on his last attempt to be fourth fastest in The Bottle-O Falcon ahead of Ryan Briscoe, Tonio Liuzzi, James Hinchcliffe, Darren Turner, David Brabham and Stephane Sarrazin.

Tyre condition played its traditional part in the order of the session, with teams juggling their eight pre-marked and four green tyres available to them across the day.

The session ran green for its duration as the internationals methodically worked their way into a groove around the Surfers Paradise circuit.

As in the first session, teams focussed on schooling their drivers on the limits of the electronic sensors within the Turn 2 and Turn 7/8/9/10 chicane. With the high ‘inner kerbs’ proving a significant deterrent against cutting the chicanes, several of the primary drivers watching their co-drivers in action expressed their desire to see the sensors turned off altogether.

Of those to strike minor trouble during the session, Lucas di Grassi and Justin Wilson both visited the Turn 11 escape road, while Jamie Campbell-Walter nosed the #21 Holden into the tyre barrier at the exit of the final hairpin.

Three seconds separated fast-man Lieb from the slowest runner Max Papis at the end of the 40 minutes.

Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport’s international Mike Conway was unable to turn any laps in the session following primary driver Taz Douglas’ crash in the first chicane during the opening stages of Practice 1.

CLICK HERE for Speedcafe.com’s report and full result from the opening session

The third practice session, which will again be for the international co-drivers only, is scheduled to get underway at 1335 local time.

See below for the full session result

See below for Speedcafe.com’s Armor All Gold Coast 600 Race Guide