Perkins impresses in opening Dunlop practice

Jack Perkins blitzed the Sydney Olympic Park street circuit as he set the pace in the opening Dunlop Development Series practice session.

The Eggleston Motorsport driver quickly adapted to the fast and bumpy Homebush track setting a time a full half a second quicker than his nearest rival.

Such was Perkins pace, he was the only man to dip into the 1:29s bracket.

Steve Owen was second fastest with Action Racing’s Mark Zukanovic in third.

Championship leader and title favourite Dale Wood was fourth with Drew Russell fifth and George Miedecke sixth.

Casey Stoner showed flashes of speed as he finished in 15th, while Shannons Supercar Showdown winner Todd Hazelwood was 24th on his series debut.

The early exchanges belonged to Taz Douglas and Owen as the pair both enjoyed lengthy spells at the top of the timesheets.

However it would eventually prove to be a difficult morning for Douglas as he slammed into the wall half an hour into the session. The accident severely damaged the front suspension and he was forced to drag the car back to the pits, where he remained for the rest of practice.

Wood was the next driver to shine but his stay at the top was short-lived as Perkins stormed to the top by a second. The GRM V8 Supercar co-driver continued to improve on his time and by the end of the session he shaved his time down to a 1:29.8670s.

Title contender Ash Walsh forced his way into the top three briefly but his session came to a premature end when he brought out the red flags with seven minutes remaining. His stricken Falcon was towed back to the pits.

The session resumed but nobody could deny Perkins from claiming the top spot. Owen clawed some of the deficit back to finish just half a second behind, while a last gasp effort from Zukanovic elevated him into third.

See below for full Dunlop Series Practice 1 results