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Chaz Mostert has bounced back from his Clipsal 500 crash in style, setting the fastest time in opening practice for the V8 Supercars at Albert Park.
Mostert sat third behind Shane van Gisbergen and Jason Bright for much of the session before a quick lap in the final minutes saw the Supercheap Ford jump to the top.
Mostert’s 1:58.23s proved 0.67s clear of Van Gisbergen’s earlier effort, which had included a scrape with the Turn 10 exit wall.
Bright set the pace in the early minutes before Todd Kelly stopped his Nissan on track with an engine problem, triggering a red flag stoppage.
The Altima appeared to drop an oil line in the middle of the high-speed Turn 11/12 chicane on its first lap out of the pits, resulting in a plume of smoke and a flash of flame as Kelly pulled to the side of the track.
Action resumed for the remaining 25 cars following a seven minute clean-up, with the remainder of the 30 minutes running uninterrupted.
Among those to tour the outfield during the session were the DJR Team Penske Fords of Scott Pye and Fabian Coulthard, which both ran through the Turn 3 gravel on the way to 22nd and 23rd on the sheets.
James Courtney’s late bid for the top spot saw the HRT Commodore visit the gravel at Turn 13 following a rear lock-up on entry.
Drivers have two sets of pre-marked tyres available for the two practice sessions, leaving the field to run on a mix of soft and hard compound rubber.
Although set on softs, Mostert’s best time was a full three seconds adrift of Jamie Whincup’s qualifying lap record, recorded on new rubber back in 2012.
Result: V8 Supercars Practice 1, Albert Park
1 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:58.2833* | |
2 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 01:58.96 | 00:00.67 |
3 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 01:59.00 | 00:00.71 |
4 | Nissan Motorsport | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 01:59.15 | 00:00.87 |
5 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG/X | 01:59.18 | 00:00.90 |
6 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 01:59.43 | 00:01.15 |
7 | Team Vortex | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 01:59.53 | 00:01.24 |
8 | Freightliner Racing | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 01:59.70 | 00:01.41 |
9 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | James Moffat | Volvo S60 | 01:59.75 | 00:01.46 |
10 | Erebus Motorsport Penrite | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VF | 01:59.95 | 00:01.67 |
11 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 01:59.96 | 00:01.68 |
12 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Volvo S60 | 01:59.96 | 00:01.68 |
13 | Nissan Motorsport | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 02:00.06 | 00:01.77 |
14 | Team Cooldrive | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VF | 02:00.28 | 00:02.00 |
15 | Prodrive Racing Australia | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG/X | 02:00.33 | 00:02.05 |
16 | LD Motorsports | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 02:00.35 | 00:02.06 |
17 | LD Motorsports | Andre Heimgartner | Holden Commodore VF | 02:00.63 | 00:02.35 |
18 | Team Darrell Lea STIX | Will Davison | Holden Commodore VF | 02:00.69 | 00:02.40 |
19 | GB Galvanizing Racing | Dale Wood | Nissan Altima | 02:00.89 | 00:02.61 |
20 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 02:00.95 | 00:02.67 |
21 | Preston Hire Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VF | 02:01.45 | 00:03.16 |
22 | DJR Team Penske | Scott Pye | Ford Falcon FG/X | 02:01.63 | 00:03.35 |
23 | DJR Team Penske | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG/X | 02:02.71 | 00:04.43 |
24 | Plus Fitness Racing | Aaren Russell | Holden Commodore VF | 02:03.11 | 00:04.83 |
25 | Superblack Racing | Chris Pither | Ford Falcon FG/X | 02:05.13 | 00:06.85 |
26 | carsales Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima |
