Alexandre Premat proved a point upon his return to the V8 Supercars Championship, topping both co-driver practice sessions at the Wilson Security Sandown 500.
Having lost his full-time ride at Garry Rogers Motorsport at the end of last season, the Frenchman has returned to co-drive the team’s #33 Volvo with Scott McLaughlin in the Pirtek Enduro Cup.
Premat improved his 1:09.90s from Practice 2 with a 1:09.52s in the closing seconds of the third 40 minute session.
The late effort bumped Red Bull’s Paul Dumbrell from the top spot by just 0.04s.
“I’ve been settled back in Paris so it’s nice to be back in Australia and settle into the Volvo package,” said Premat post-session.
“The car is good, but last year we were good here as well.
“I think the most important thing is we’re fast.
“We need reliability for the weekend, but I’m sure we’ll do a really good job.”
Dumbrell’s primary driver Jamie Whincup retained the fastest time of the day thanks to his 1:09.19s from the opening session.
Tekno’s Jonathon Webb and the second of the Volvos, driven by Greg Ritter, completed the top four in Practice 3 ahead of Taz Douglas in the first of the Nissans.
The Ford runners were led by Dick Johnson Racing pilots Steven Johnson and Ash Walsh in 10th and 11th respectively.
Dean Canto was the fastest of the Ford Performance Racing co-drivers in 12th, while Chaz Mostert’s car was mired down the order in both sessions with Paul Morris at the wheel.
Both co-driver sessions ran green for their duration, with David Wall’s engine problem in Practice 1 proving the day’s only interruption.
A fourth and final practice session will get underway at 1005 tomorrow morning ahead of a qualifying session and two qualifying races.
Result: V8 Supercars Practice 3, Sandown
1 |
Valvoline Racing GRM |
Alexandre Premat |
Volvo S60 |
01:09.52 |
|
2 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
Paul Dumbrell |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.56 |
00:00.04 |
3 |
Team Tekno VIP Petfoods |
Jonathon Webb |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.60 |
00:00.08 |
4 |
Valvoline Racing GRM |
Greg Ritter |
Volvo S60 |
01:09.71 |
00:00.19 |
5 |
Norton Hornets |
Taz Douglas |
Nissan Altima |
01:09.74 |
00:00.22 |
6 |
Holden Racing Team |
Warren Luff |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.87 |
00:00.35 |
7 |
Norton Hornets |
Dean Fiore |
Nissan Altima |
01:09.88 |
00:00.36 |
8 |
Lockwood Racing |
Luke Youlden |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.88 |
00:00.36 |
9 |
Team Advam/GB |
Chris Pither |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.94 |
00:00.42 |
10 |
Wilson Security Racing |
Steven Johnson |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:10.01 |
00:00.49 |
11 |
Wilson Security Racing |
Ashley Walsh |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:10.04 |
00:00.52 |
12 |
The Bottle-O Racing Team |
Dean Canto |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:10.08 |
00:00.55 |
13 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
Steven Richards |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:10.08 |
00:00.56 |
14 |
Walkinshaw Racing |
Oliver Gavin |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:10.12 |
00:00.60 |
15 |
Ford Pepsi Max Crew |
Steve Owen |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:10.15 |
00:00.62 |
16 |
Team BOC |
Andrew Jones |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:10.16 |
00:00.63 |
17 |
Repair Management Aust Racing |
Tim Blanchard |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:10.18 |
00:00.66 |
18 |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
Alex Davison |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
01:10.19 |
00:00.66 |
19 |
Holden Racing Team |
Greg Murphy |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:10.20 |
00:00.68 |
20 |
Jack Daniel's Racing |
David Russell |
Nissan Altima |
01:10.26 |
00:00.73 |
21 |
Team JELD-WEN |
Cameron Waters |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:10.26 |
00:00.74 |
22 |
Supercheap Auto Racing |
Tony D'Alberto |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:10.31 |
00:00.79 |
23 |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
Craig Baird |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
01:10.33 |
00:00.81 |
24 |
Ford Pepsi Max Crew |
Paul Morris |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:10.35 |
00:00.83 |
25 |
Jack Daniel's Racing |
Alex Buncombe |
Nissan Altima |
01:10.78 |
00:01.26 |
Result: V8 Supercars combined Friday practice times, Sandown
1 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
J.Whincup/P.Dumbrell |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.19 |
|
2 |
Valvoline Racing GRM |
S.McLaughlin/A.Premat |
Volvo S60 |
01:09.52 |
00:00.33 |
3 |
Team Tekno VIP Petfoods |
S.Van Gisbergen/J.Webb |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.60 |
00:00.41 |
4 |
Holden Racing Team |
G.Tander/W.Luff |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.63 |
00:00.44 |
5 |
Holden Racing Team |
J.Courtney/G.Murphy |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.71 |
00:00.52 |
6 |
Valvoline Racing GRM |
R.Dahlgren/G.Ritter |
Volvo S60 |
01:09.71 |
00:00.52 |
7 |
Norton Hornets |
J.Moffat/T.Douglas |
Nissan Altima |
01:09.74 |
00:00.55 |
8 |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
L.Holdsworth/C.Baird |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
01:09.84 |
00:00.65 |
9 |
Team BOC |
J.Bright/A.Jones |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.85 |
00:00.66 |
10 |
Norton Hornets |
M.Caruso/D.Fiore |
Nissan Altima |
01:09.88 |
00:00.69 |
11 |
Lockwood Racing |
F.Coulthard/L.Youlden |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.88 |
00:00.69 |
12 |
Supercheap Auto Racing |
T.Slade/T.D'Alberto |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.92 |
00:00.73 |
13 |
Jack Daniel's Racing |
R.Kelly/D.Russell |
Nissan Altima |
01:09.93 |
00:00.74 |
14 |
Team Advam/GB |
D.Wood/C.Pither |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.94 |
00:00.75 |
15 |
Ford Pepsi Max Crew |
M.Winterbottom/S.Owen |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:09.97 |
00:00.78 |
16 |
Walkinshaw Racing |
N.Percat/O.Gavin |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:09.98 |
00:00.79 |
17 |
Wilson Security Racing |
D.Wall/S.Johnson |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:10.01 |
00:00.82 |
18 |
Wilson Security Racing |
S.Pye/A.Walsh |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:10.02 |
00:00.83 |
19 |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
W.Davison/A.Davison |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
01:10.05 |
00:00.86 |
20 |
Ford Pepsi Max Crew |
C.Mostert/P.Morris |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:10.06 |
00:00.87 |
21 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
C.Lowndes/S.Richards |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:10.06 |
00:00.87 |
22 |
The Bottle-O Racing Team |
D.Reynolds/D.Canto |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:10.08 |
00:00.88 |
23 |
Repair Management Aust Racing |
R.Ingall/T.Blanchard |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:10.18 |
00:00.99 |
24 |
Jack Daniel's Racing |
T.Kelly/A.Buncombe |
Nissan Altima |
01:10.25 |
00:01.06 |
25 |
Team JELD-WEN |
J.Perkins/C.Waters |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:10.26 |
00:01.07 |
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