GruppeM Mercedes-AMG pilot Raffaele Marciello is the fastest driver after a truncated fourth practice session at the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.

Marciello set the first ‘three’ of the weekend when he clocked a 2:03.9958s on his fourth flying lap in Car #999 and that remained the benchmark time when a red flag was called just before the halfway mark due to a rollover for Keith Kassulke at The Chase.

With track crews needing to repair the barriers which had been struck heavily by the Invitational class #52 MARC II, Race Control opted to call the session.

Marciello and GruppeM Racing were thus locked into top spot not only for Practice 4 but for the opening day as a whole, from the #75 SunEnergy 1 Mercedes-AMG in which Luca Stolz set a 2:04.1362s during that entry’s first run in the most recent session at Mount Panorama.

Marciello, Stolz, and Audi Sport Customer Racing’s Mattia Drudi had been engaged in a three-way battle during the opening salvos, but Mathieu Jaminet had moved into third with a 2:04.2938s in the #912 Manthey EMA Porsche, a few minutes prior to the red flag.

Drudi and the Melbourne Performance Centre-run #74 Audi thus ended up fourth, from the #24 Volante Rosso Motorsport Mercedes-AMG thanks to a 2:04.8316s from Jordan Love.

The #10 MPC Audi ended up sixth-fastest for the session, from the Supercheap Auto-backed #888 Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes-AMG into which Shane van Gisbergen had climbed just before the session came to a premature end.

Rounding out the top 10 were the #777 MPC Audi, the #32 Team WRT BMW, and the #44 Valmont Racing Mercedes-AMG.

Having topped Practice 2, his very first session at Mount Panorama, Valentino Rossi was sent out again for the opening run in the #46 Team WRT BMW and managed to beat his earlier effort when he set a 2:05.2838s.

Practice 5, an hour-long session open to all drivers, takes place tomorrow from 08:35 local time/AEDT.

Results: Practice 4 All drivers