Chaz Mostert cemented Prodrive's place at the top of the V8 Supercars pecking order by setting the fastest time in final Friday practice in Townsville.
On a circuit layout that had been touted as the last major unknown on the calendar for the FG X package, Winterbottom and Mostert each topped a session during the opening day of track running.
Running on hard tyres, the youngster put in a 1:13.25s best in the final minute of the third half-hour hit-out to edge a soft-shod Nick Percat by 0.05s.
The order was typically impacted by tyres, with those on pre-marked soft rubber mixing it with those on the new hards allocated for practice.
A late effort from Practice 2 pace-setter Will Davison saw the Erebus Mercedes leap into third ahead of Winterbottom and Fabian Coulthard.
Andre Heimgartner concluded a strong run for the Super Black Ford in sixth ahead of Shane van Gisbergen, who clocked 19 laps despite a persistent vibration issue.
Scott McLaughlin, James Courtney and Craig Lowndes completed the top 10.
Wild moments for the typically spectacular Lowndes provided the majority of the session's entertainment as the 100-time race winner saved a series of slides.
Team-mate Jamie Whincup ended his first day back working with former race engineer Mark Dutton down in 15th place.
Rick Kelly caused a mid-session red flag when his Nissan suffered an engine failure.
The motor had been installed at the circuit on Thursday following the late sign-off of upgrades with V8 Supercars.
Result: V8 Supercars Practice 3, Townsville
1 |
Pepsi Max Crew |
Chaz Mostert |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
1:13.2527* |
|
2 |
Repair Management Aust Racing |
Nick Percat |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:13.31 |
00:00.05 |
3 |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
Will Davison |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
01:13.32 |
00:00.07 |
4 |
Pepsi Max Crew |
Mark Winterbottom |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
01:13.38 |
00:00.12 |
5 |
Freightliner Racing |
Fabian Coulthard |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:13.52 |
00:00.27 |
6 |
Super Black Racing |
Andre Heimgartner |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
01:13.54 |
00:00.28 |
7 |
Team Darrell Lea STIX |
Shane Van Gisbergen |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:13.54 |
00:00.28 |
8 |
Wilson Security Racing GRM |
Scott McLaughlin |
Volvo S60 |
01:13.57 |
00:00.31 |
9 |
Holden Racing Team |
James Courtney |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:13.59 |
00:00.33 |
10 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:13.62 |
00:00.37 |
11 |
The Bottle-O Racing Team |
David Reynolds |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
01:13.71 |
00:00.46 |
12 |
Walkinshaw Racing |
Lee Holdsworth |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:13.79 |
00:00.54 |
13 |
Nissan Motorsport |
James Moffat |
Nissan Altima |
01:13.80 |
00:00.55 |
14 |
Nissan Motorsport |
Todd Kelly |
Nissan Altima |
01:13.81 |
00:00.55 |
15 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
Jamie Whincup |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:13.86 |
00:00.60 |
16 |
Nissan Motorsport |
Michael Caruso |
Nissan Altima |
01:13.89 |
00:00.64 |
17 |
Team Cooldrive |
Tim Blanchard |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:14.03 |
00:00.77 |
18 |
Supercheap Auto Racing |
Tim Slade |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:14.07 |
00:00.81 |
19 |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
Ashley Walsh |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
01:14.12 |
00:00.86 |
20 |
DJR Team Penske |
Scott Pye |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
01:14.12 |
00:00.86 |
21 |
Holden Racing Team |
Garth Tander |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:14.13 |
00:00.88 |
22 |
Team BOC |
Jason Bright |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:14.30 |
00:01.04 |
23 |
GB Galvanizing Racing |
Dale Wood |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:14.31 |
00:01.06 |
24 |
Nissan Motorsport |
Rick Kelly |
Nissan Altima |
01:14.44 |
00:01.19 |
25 |
Wilson Security Racing GRM |
David Wall |
Volvo S60 |
01:14.60 |
00:01.34 |