McLeod quickest in wet-dry Super2 Practice 2

The RM Racing Cars with PremiAir driver set a 2:10.6680s on his final lap in Practice 2 for Round 1 of the series and finished 0.6443s ahead of fellow Super2 rookie Max Vidau (#17 Anderson Motorsport S550 Mustang) in second.

Rain at the start of the 40-minute session slowed things down, both in terms of the lap times and the volume of on-track action.

Rookie Cody Burcher, one of two Super3 drivers in the field, kicked things off with as 2:42.1978s and a 2:40.5252s in the #15 MW Motorsport Altima, before Zach Bates (#25 Walkinshaw Andretti United ZB Commodore) set a 2:38.5666s.

Burcher replied with a 2:36.9591s then 2023 Super2 Series winner Kai Allen (#1 Eggleston Motorsport ZB Commodore) set a 2:33.9713s.

Cameron McLeod (#92 ZB Commodore) then clocked a 2:33.4286s before Matt Chahda (#18 Matt Chahda Motorsport ZB Commodore) laid down a 2:29.8851s.

Jobe Stewart (#99 Erebus Academy ZB Commodore) moved the benchmark to a 2:27.4895s, then Reuben Goodall (#20 Gomersall Motorsport ZB Commodore) to a 2:26.4145s, Burcher to a 2:26.2017s, and Stewart to a 2:23.9988s.

Chahda, meanwhile, had been the first to switch to slicks and achieved a 2:23.8004s despite losing 2.4s in Sector 3, with the top of the mountain still wet.

Jarrod Hughes (#118 Image Racing ZB Commodore) immediately bettered that with a 2:22.9605s, then Goodall on a 2:21.8271s.

McLeod looked to have also swapped to slicks when he set a 2:20.8793s and a 2:19.5711s, after which Burcher returned to the top on a 2:18.3443s and then Bates set a 2:15.4340s and a 2:13.9926s.

He was top when the chequered flag came out but, having already pitted, slipped to sixth in the end.

Super3 driver Thomas Maxwell (#3 MWM Altima) went quickest on a 2:13.5169s only to be usurped by McLeod’s 2:10.6680s, Vidau’s 2:11.3123s, and Goodall’s 2:12.4364s.

Chahda ended up fifth, with seventh through 10th being Bucher, Jett Johnson (#117 AIM Motorsport S550 Mustang), Hughes, and Rylan Gray (#55 Tickford Autosport S550 Mustang).

None of the Eggleston Motorsport quartet, including Practice 1 pace-setter Kai Allen (#1 ZB Commodore), bothered to complete a lap, although he is still fastest on combined times.

Zane Morse (#11 S550 Mustang) was also a non-starter, but after suspension parts were stolen from the AIM pit marquee.

Qualifying for Race 1 starts tomorrow at 09:25 local time/AEDT, with the field split into two groups for the upper and lower 50 percent from combined practice results.

Results: Practice 2