David Russell set the fastest time during Friday morning practice at the Bathurst 12 Hour as a collision between two Ferraris shortened proceedings.
The final 15 minutes of the hour long hit-out was dominated by consecutive red flag periods.
The first was called after an off from Max Twigg at McPhillamy Park, while contact involving the Equity-One Audi, AF Corse Ferrari and Vicious Rumour Ferrari followed at the same corner on the subsequent out-lap.
The AF Corse entry was able to limp back to the pits after the incident while the Vicious Rumour 458 returned on a flat-bed.
CLICK HERE for more on the crash, which has seen the Vicious Rumour entry withdrawn from the event
Russell had set the pace from the early going, dipping into the 2:07s at the 10 minute mark before lowering the benchmark further to 2:05.9s a short time later.
The Australian then vacated the JBS Lamborghini for Dutch co-driver Peter Kox before car owner Roger Lago finished the session.
Russell’s time on the resurfaced Mount Panorama undercut Lee Holdsworth’s previous practice record by some 0.3s.
Maro Engel put the #1 Erebus Mercedes second fastest prior to the red flags, while Japanese driver Katsumasa Chiyo ensured the #32 Nissan ended up third after taking over from Rick Kelly.
The #4 M Motorsport Lamborghini, #9 Marc Cini Audi, #77 AF Corse Ferrari, #63 Erebus Mercedes, #48 Vicious Rumour Ferrari, #88 Maranello Ferrari and #3 Phoenix Audi completed the top 10.
The #69 Supabarn Porsche was the second fastest Class B car despite its off, albeit some five seconds adrift from the JBS Lamborghini.
The morning began with a separate 60 minute session for the Class C, D, E, F and I entries that was topped by the #65 Daytona.
The three MARC Focus V8s had held sway at the top of the order for much of the session before a late effort from Ben Schoots in the Australian-built sportscar.
CLICK HERE for full results from the day’s sessions
