Reynolds fastest in PI test at halfway

David Reynolds has set the early pace at Supercars’ official pre-season test that saw the new Ford Mustang break cover.

The Erebus Motorsport driver was the only driver to dip under the 1:31s bracket during the morning running as the entire field hit the track for the first proper running this season at Phillip Island.   

Reynolds, who is sharing the car with Luke Youlden, posted his 1:30.95s just prior to the only red flag stoppage after 95 minutes of running. 

Officials flew the red flags for 27 minutes due to dirt and gravel on the track. 

“It’s been good. We rolled out and the car had good balance,” said Reynolds.

“I knocked around on some old tyres, put a decent set on, and it’s not too bad.

“I still think the Fords are better in the high-speed – the McLaughlin Ford is better in the high-speed – but we’re a bit better in the slow speed. 

“We kind of expected that. We’ve got a few tuning items to go through this afternoon and then we’ll see what happens.”

Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Scott Pye was Reynolds nearest rival at just 0.07s shy of Reynolds, while Erebus Motorsport’s sister car of Anton De Pasquale sat third.

The fastest Mustang belonged to Scott McLaughlin as he piloted the #17 Shell V-Power Racing entry to fourth.

McLaughlin had been fast from the start, setting the early pace before he was eclipsed by Pye.  

Fabian Coulthard occupied fifth ahead of James Courtney (Walkinshaw Andretti United).

The Supercheap Auto Mustang clocked the seventh fastest time courtesy of Chaz Mostert’s co-driver James Moffat, who is joined in the Tickford garage by new co-driver signing Michael Caruso.

Mostert had conducted much of the early running in the #55 entry.

James Golding (Garry Rogers Motorsport) was eighth and Rick Kelly had put the #15 Castrol Racing Altima ninth.

Todd Kelly made a return to the driving seat for the first time since 2017 when he jumped in his brother’s car to assess several change to the Altima’s aero and engine.  

Shane van Gisbergen completed the top 10 in the #97 Red Bull Holden Racing Team car, while his team-mate Jamie Whincup was only 14th.

Mark Winterbottom was 11th in his Triple Eight-built Team 18 Holden, while Garry Jacobson edged Macauley Jones to the top rookie spot in 22nd position.  

The day is a crucial one for teams especially the Ford squads as they get to grips with the new Mustang.

A new control transaxle and ECU is in operation while the test is the first time the entire field will run on linear springs following the ban of twin spring dampers. 

The session is set to finish at 1700 AEDT.