Touring Car Masters
Ryan Hansford weathered the storm on the opening day’s running at Winton to top both Touring Car Masters practice sessions.
The Holden Torana driver was well clear of the competition throughout the day, though his 1.8s advantage was trimmed to just 1.7s by Steve Johnson by the end of the second 20-minute hit-out.
Johnson had trailed Hansford in Practice 1 too, the pair in a class of their own.
Third-placed Eddie Abelnica’s best was some 2.6s adrift of Hansford’s time.
The margin between Abelnica and Johnson narrowed to just a tenth of a second in Practice 2, leaving the XB Falcon driver the meat in a Ford sandwich with Tony Karanfilovski fourth in a Mustang.
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TCM debutant Melinda Price failed to record a time after heading out only for a series of installation laps.
Meanwhile, championship leader John Bowe ended the day with just the eighth fastest time.
The serious business gets underway tomorrow with qualifying at 1150 following by a 12-lap race at 1425.
Kumho V8 Touring Cars
Tyler Greenbury went fastest overall in the V8 Touring Cars Series, topping second practice at Winton.
Despite the unpredictable weather routinely dousing the circuit, conditions across the two sessions produced remarkably similar times.
Jon McCorkindale’s 1:42.942s opening practice benchmark was only marginally off Greenbury’s best of 1:42.862s
In the first session, Jon McCorkindale had gone quickest in the opening session ahead of Jack Smith, with Aaron Seton third best on debut in the category.
Michael Caine and Jim Pollicina upped their pace as the day wore on, making for an all-Commodore top four in Practice 2.
Both sessions were interrupted by red flags as the slippery conditions saw a number of cars slide off track, though all were able to be recovered without damage.
Australian Formula Ford Series
Aaron Cameron will start form pole position for tomorrow’s opening Formula Ford race, the Victorian nabbing top spot from Max Vidau in the final moments of the 20-minute session.
Jayden Ojeda is set to start form third, the leading trio the only drivers capable of lapping the Winton circuit inside of 1:33s bracket.
Cameron had earlier set the pace at the head of the 30-car field in the second practice session, edging out Hunter McElrea and Adrian Lazzaro in Practice 2.
The Practice 1 pace was set by Ojeda, who topped a torrentially wet session from Nathan Herne and McElrea.
The first of the weekend’s three races gets underway tomorrow with a 10-lap encounter.
V8 Utes Racing Series
Heavy rain dominated the opening practice session for the V8 Utes, the experienced Kim Jane ending it on top despite an off which drew the red flags.
Conditions improved significantly for the second session which saw times almost ten seconds a lap faster than had been set in the morning.
Jane remained among the quick men, though had to play second fiddle to Ryal Harris who went fastest by almost two tenths of a second.
Mason Barbera ended the day with the third best time, having been just 12th fastest in the 13-car field in the earlier session.
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