Chris Pither has set the fastest lap in opening practice for Round 2 of the Dunlop Super2 Series at Symmons Plains.
The Garry Rogers Motorsport driver beat early pace-setter Paul Dumbrell by nearly a quarter of a second, while Round 1 pole-sitter Garry Jacobson finished the session in third.
Pither sat second after the opening runs before taking over the lead in the second runs after a rear-end tweak to the #44 VF Commodore.
He improved further to a 0:52.3842s in the final run before the second red flag of the session saw a slightly premature end.
Dumbrell (#88 Eggleston Motorsport VF Commodore) set his best time in his second run, while Jacobson’s (#26 MW Motorsport Nissan Altima) fastest came around the half-hour mark.
Brodie Kostecki kept up Kostecki Brothers Racing’s strong start to the season with fourth-quickest in the #57 VF Commodore, ahead of Thomas Randle in a spare Tickford Racing FGX Falcon chassis after his unfortunate Adelaide crash.
Macauley Jones, Will Brown, Dean Fiore, Kurt Kostecki, and Nathan Morcom rounded out the top 10.
Fiore and Kurt Kostecki caused the red flags, both having come into the Hairpin too hot and ultimately getting beached in the gravel trap.
Bryce Fullwood was 13th and Alex Rullo 17th.
Another 40-minute practice session follows at 1405 local time/AEST.
Results: Practice 1
Pos | Num | Team/Sponsor | Driver | Car | Fastest lap | Split |
1 | 44 | Wilson Security PAYCE GRM | Chris Pither | Holden Commodore VF | 0:52.3842 | |
2 | 88 | Eggleston Motorsport | Paul Dumbrell | Holden Commodore VF | 0:52.6301 | 0:00.2459 |
3 | 26 | MEGA Fuels / MWM | Garry Jacobson | Nissan Altima | 0:52.6836 | 0:00.2994 |
4 | 57 | Arcoplate Racing | Brodie Kostecki | Holden Commodore VF | 0:52.8026 | 0:00.4184 |
5 | 5 | Skye Sands | Thomas Randle | Ford Falcon FG/X | 0:52.8087 | 0:00.4245 |
6 | 14 | Payce | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore VF | 0:52.8119 | 0:00.4277 |
7 | 38 | Eggleston Motorsport | William Brown | Holden Commodore VF | 0:52.8415 | 0:00.4573 |
8 | 23 | Sitech-Trimble / MWM | Dean Fiore | Nissan Altima | 0:52.8665 | 0:00.4823 |
9 | 55 | Arcoplate Racing | Kurt Kostecki | Holden Commodore VF | 0:52.9154 | 0:00.5312 |
10 | 54 | Eggleston Motorsport | Nathan Morcom | Holden Commodore VF | 0:52.9859 | 0:00.6017 |
11 | 67 | Paul Morris Motorsport | Shae Davies | Ford Falcon FG/X | 0:52.9938 | 0:00.6096 |
12 | 15 | Auto One Racing | Adam Marjoram | Holden Commodore VF | 0:53.0040 | 0:00.6198 |
13 | 16 | Middy’s Electrical | Bryce Fullwood | Ford Falcon FG/X | 0:53.1211 | 0:00.7369 |
14 | 21 | SCT Logistics | Jack Smith | Holden Commodore VF | 0:53.1294 | 0:00.7452 |
15 | 99 | Wilson Security PAYCE GRM | Mason Barbera | Holden Commodore VF | 0:53.1484 | 0:00.7642 |
16 | 56 | Arcoplate Racing | Jake Kostecki | Holden Commodore VF | 0:53.1656 | 0:00.7814 |
17 | 62 | Land Surveys / MWM | Alex Rullo | Nissan Altima | 0:53.1682 | 0:00.7840 |
18 | 18 | Auto One Albury | Matthew Chahda | Holden Commodore VF | 0:53.2382 | 0:00.8540 |
19 | 13 | Green Unicorn Racing | Tyler Greenbury | Holden Commodore VF | 0:53.3504 | 0:00.9662 |
20 | 63 | Eggleston Motorsport | Dominic Storey | Holden Commodore VF | 0:53.3511 | 0:00.9669 |
21 | 49 | Dynamic Supplies | Jordan Boys | Holden Commodore VF | 0:53.4497 | 0:01.0655 |
22 | 8 | BGD Architects | Zane Goddard | Holden Commodore VF | 0:53.5088 | 0:01.1246 |
23 | 10 | Grove Hire | Brenton Grove | Holden Commodore VF | 0:53.5543 | 0:01.1701 |