Glenn Seton and John Bowe rekindled old Mount Panorama memories as they dominated Touring Car Masters free practice at Bathurst.
Two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Bowe, who is determined to make up ground in the championship battle, got his weekend off to a perfect start with a last ditch effort to set the fastest time in the opening session.
Wildcard runner Seton, who topped the times for the majority of the opening practice, managed to better Bowe in the second session, signalling a potential challenge to the championship’s top three.
The opening exchanges on the Mountain belonged to title contender Andrew Miedecke as he set an initial time of 2:25.8756s.
However, once Seton and his XY Falcon joined the fray the order was set to change.
His first time moved him into second spot but his next effort eclipsed Miedecke by a full eight tenths.
Meanwhile Bowe (Ford Mustang) shaved time off his early efforts slotting into third spot with championship leader Jim Richards posting a time good enough for fifth.
Seton continued to improve at the top while there was plenty of movement behind with Eddie Abelnica grabbing second briefly.
With five minutes remaining, Richards lit up the timing screens as he moved to the top becoming the first man to post a time in the 2.24s bracket.
Seton fought back and knocked tenth off that time.
But as time was running out, Bowe found some clear air on the circuit to blitz Seton’s effort by half a second which gave him the session. Richards finished third ahead of Abelnica and Keith Kassulke.
The second free practice session saw the Touring Car Masters cream rise to the top.
Seton set the initial pace and his fifth flying lap proved enough to top the session.
The time of 2:23.3511s was seven tenths quicker than Bowe’’s from the first session.
Bowe was Seton’s nearest challenger and he managed a time two tenths adrift of the former double Australian Touring Car Champion, while Miedecke was third.
Richards’ pace continued to improve from the morning as he set the fourth fastest time just half a second off the pace.
Practice 1
| 1 | Dunlop Super Dealers/Wilson Security | John Bowe (VIC) | Ford Mustang Trans A | 2:24.1731 | |
| 2 | Falcon Fire Protection | Glenn Seton (QLD) | Ford Falcon XY GTHO | 2:24.7678 | 00.59 |
| 3 | Shannons Insurance | Jim Richards (VIC) | Ford Falcon Sprint | 2:24.8844 | 00.71 |
| 4 | Sydney’s Cheapest Cars | Eddie Abelnica (VIC) | Ford Falcon XB Coupe | 2:25.5722 | 01.39 |
| 5 | Outbound Racing / wheels.com.pg | Keith Kassulke (QLD) | Ford Falcon XB Coupe | 2:25.7516 | 01.57 |
| 6 | Mopar Performance | Greg Crick (TAS) | Chrysler Charger E55 | 2:25.8652 | 01.69 |
| 7 | Whiteline Transport Racing / L | Andrew Miedecke (NSW) | Chevrolet Camaro SS | 2:25.8756 | 01.70 |
| 8 | Bandit Racing | Adam Bressington (NSW) | Holden HQ Monaro | 2:26.9748 | 02.80 |
| 9 | “Mothers Cleaners, Wax & Polis | Brett Youlden (VIC) | Holden HQ Monaro | 2:27.4963 | 03.32 |
| 10 | Whiteline Transport Racing / King Springs | Mark King (QLD) | Chevrolet Camaro RS | 2:28.9500 | 04.77 |
| 11 | TIFS – Warehousing & Distribution | Tony Karanfilovski (NSW | Ford Mustang Trans A | 2:29.1135 | 04.94 |
| 12 | Cannon Trailers / Tilleys Auto | Brad Tilley (NSW) | Ford Falcon XY GT | 2:29.2256 | 05.05 |
| 13 | Freestones Transport/Freestone Roadhaven | Paul Freestone (VIC) | Chevrolet Camaro SS | 2:29.5438 | 05.37 |
| 14 | iseek Racing | Jason Gomersall (QLD) | Holden Torana SL/R 5 | 2:29.6295 | 05.45 |
| 15 | Outbound Racing / Treloar Rose | Les Walmsley (VIC) | Holden HQ Monaro | 2:30.0682 | 05.89 |
| 16 | Tilleys Racing Equipment | Cameron Tilley (NSW) | Ford Boss Mustang | 2:30.3962 | 06.22 |
| 17 | SportsMed | Greg Keene (SA) | Porsche 911 RS | 2:31.2575 | 07.08 |
| 18 | Bendigo Accident Repair Centre | Gary O’Brien (VIC) | Holden HQ GTS | 2:31.9938 | 07.82 |
| 19 | calga.biz | Bill Pye (NSW) | Porsche 911 RS | 2:32.3430 | 08.16 |
| 20 | Thunder Road Racing Australia | William Vining (NSW) | Ford Mustang Coupe | 2:32.3973 | 08.22 |
| 21 | Hercules Engines | Steve Mason (NSW) | Ford Mustang Fastbac | 2:33.2056 | 09.03 |
| 22 | Corio Auto Parts | Graham Alexander (VIC) | Holden HT Monaro | 2:35.4185 | 11.24 |
| 23 | Treloar Roses / Mick Wilson Plumbing | Mick Wilson (VIC) | Chrysler Charger RT | 2:37.8567 | 13.68 |
| 24 | Lyndways Builders | Wayne Mercer (VIC) | Ford Falcon XY GTHO | 2:37.9128 | 13.73 |
| 25 | SportsMed | Amanda Sparks (SA) | Porsche 911 RS | 2:37.9692 | 13.79 |
| 26 | Black Cat Racing | Rory O’Neill (SA) | Porsche 911 RS | 2:38.1778 | 14.00 |
| 27 | Hercules Engines | Andrew Adams (VIC) | Chevrolet Camaro SS | 2:41.1629 | 16.98 |
| 28 | THD Motorsport | Leo Tobin (VIC) | Holden HQ Monaro | 2:41.3323 | 17.15 |
Practice 2
| 1 | Falcon Fire Protection | Glenn Seton (QLD) | Ford Falcon XY GTHO | 2:23.3511 | |
| 2 | Dunlop Super Dealers/Wilson Security | John Bowe (VIC) | Ford Mustang Trans A | 2:23.5891 | 00.23 |
| 3 | Whiteline Transport Racing | Andrew Miedecke (NSW) | Chevrolet Camaro SS | 2:23.6357 | 00.28 |
| 4 | Shannons Insurance | Jim Richards (VIC) | Ford Falcon Sprint | 2:23.8109 | 00.45 |
| 5 | Sydney’s Cheapest Cars | Eddie Abelnica (VIC) | Ford Falcon XB Coupe | 2:25.6563 | 02.30 |
| 6 | Mopar Performance | Greg Crick (TAS) | Chrysler Charger E55 | 2:25.9515 | 02.60 |
| 7 | Outbound Racing / wheels.com.pg | Keith Kassulke (QLD) | Ford Falcon XB Coupe | 2:26.0055 | 02.65 |
| 8 | Whiteline Transport Racing / King Springs | Mark King (QLD) | Chevrolet Camaro RS | 2:27.1302 | 03.77 |
| 9 | Tilleys Racing Equipment | Cameron Tilley (NSW) | Ford Boss Mustang | 2:27.4084 | 04.05 |
| 10 | Bandit Racing | Adam Bressington (NSW) | Holden HQ Monaro | 2:27.5093 | 04.15 |
| 11 | “Mothers Cleaners, Wax & Polis | Brett Youlden (VIC) | Holden HQ Monaro | 2:27.7573 | 04.40 |
| 12 | TIFS – Warehousing & Distribut | Tony Karanfilovski (NSW | Ford Mustang Trans A | 2:27.7891 | 04.43 |
| 13 | Freestones Transport/Freestone Roadhaven | Paul Freestone (VIC) | Chevrolet Camaro SS | 2:27.9897 | 04.63 |
| 14 | Hercules Engines | Steve Mason (NSW) | Ford Mustang Fastbac | 2:28.2971 | 04.94 |
| 15 | Cannon Trailers / Tilleys Auto | Brad Tilley (NSW) | Ford Falcon XY GT | 2:28.6685 | 05.31 |
| 16 | Outbound Racing / Treloar Rose | Les Walmsley (VIC) | Holden HQ Monaro | 2:29.2334 | 05.88 |
| 17 | SportsMed | Greg Keene (SA) | Porsche 911 RS | 2:29.7778 | 06.42 |
| 18 | calga.biz | Bill Pye (NSW) | Porsche 911 RS | 2:30.7315 | 07.38 |
| 19 | Thunder Road Racing Australia | William Vining (NSW) | Ford Mustang Coupe | 2:32.6383 | 09.28 |
| 20 | Bendigo Accident Repair Centre | Gary O’Brien (VIC) | Holden HQ GTS | 2:32.8155 | 09.46 |
| 21 | Hercules Engines | Andrew Adams (VIC) | Chevrolet Camaro SS | 2:33.4762 | 10.12 |
| 22 | SportsMed | Amanda Sparks (SA) | Porsche 911 RS | 2:34.1266 | 10.77 |
| 23 | Corio Auto Parts | Graham Alexander (VIC) | Holden HT Monaro | 2:36.9557 | 13.60 |
| 24 | Black Cat Racing | Rory O’Neill (SA) | Porsche 911 RS | 2:38.8511 | 15.50 |
| 25 | Treloar Roses / Mick Wilson Plumbing | Mick Wilson (VIC) | Chrysler Charger RT | 2:39.5282 | 16.17 |
| 26 | iseek Racing | Jason Gomersall (QLD) | Holden Torana SL/R 5 | 2:57.4456 | 34.09 |
| 27 | THD Motorsport | Leo Tobin (VIC) | Holden HQ Monaro | 3:03.6025 | 40.25 |
