Bailey Sweeny continues to set the pace in practice for Round 7 of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International by a very slim margin.
The HMO Customer Racing driver wheeled his Hyundai as quickly as a 2:12.9560s in Practice 2 at Mount Panorama, prevailing by 0.0306s after topping the earlier session of the day by 0.0117s.
A Garry Rogers Motorsport Peugeot driver was second-best again, although that was Aaron Cameron rather than Dylan O'Keeffe in the latest hit-out, with Jay Hanson taking third in a Melbourne Performance Centre Audi.
Light rain during the day left the track somewhat damp for the start of the 25-minute session, but Cameron bowled out a relatively quick first flyer of 2:18.2722s in the #18 308.
He set a 2:15.5893s next time through, a 2:14.6388s on his third lap, and a 2:14.2241s on his fourth, before Hanson clocked a 2:13.8132s to go top, early on his first run proper in the #9 RS 3 LMS.
Hanson further gapped the field with a 2:13.5839s on his next lap, before Jordan Cox (Peugeot) brought the deficit back under half a second when he set a 2:14.0416s with just under five minutes to go.
Sweeny improved to a 2:13.7485s to go second-fastest before Hanson consolidated his hold on top spot with a 2:13.4157s.
Continuing the flurry in the final few minutes of the session, Lachlan Mineeff (Audi) got as high was second with a 2:13.7227s before Cameron set his 2:12.9866s
However, bragging rights would go to Sweeny, who got his fastest lap in just before the chequered flag.
Behind the top three of Sweeny, Cameron, and Hanson was Josh Buchan (Hyundai) on a 2:13.4340s and his HMO team-mate Nathan Morcom rounding out the top five on a 2:13.6007s.
The rest of the top 10 in the end was Mineeff, Cox, O'Keeffe, Ben Bargwanna (Peugeot), and series leader Tony D'Alberto (Honda) on a 2:14.5455s, or 1.5895s off the pace.
Qualifying, in its usual, two-part format, takes place tomorrow from 08:50 local time/AEDT.
All races are live and ad-free on Stan Sport.
Results: Practice 2
Pos | Num | Team/Sponsor | Driver | Car | Fastest lap | Split |
1 | 130 | HMO Customer Racing | Bailey Sweeny | Hyundai i30N | 2:12.9560 | |
2 | 18 | Team Valvoline GRM | Aaron Cameron | Peugeot 308 TCR | 2:12.9866 | 0:00.0306 |
3 | 9 | AWC MPC Racing | Jay Hanson | Audi RS 3 | 2:13.4157 | 0:00.4597 |
4 | 30 | HMO Customer Racing | Josh Buchan | Hyundai i30N | 2:13.4340 | 0:00.4780 |
5 | 11 | HMO Customer Racing | Nathan Morcom | Hyundai i30N | 2:13.6007 | 0:00.6447 |
6 | 14 | Forza Brakes Motorsport | Lachlan Mineeff | Audi RS 3 | 2:13.7227 | 0:00.7667 |
7 | 33 | Swyftx GRM | Jordan Cox | Peugeot 308 TCR | 2:13.7760 | 0:00.8200 |
8 | 8 | Schaeffler GRM | Dylan O'Keeffe | Peugeot 308 TCR | 2:13.9333 | 0:00.9773 |
9 | 71 | Burson Auto Parts Racing | Ben Bargwanna | Peugeot 308 TCR | 2:14.3369 | 0:01.3809 |
10 | 50 | Honda Wall Racing | Tony D'Alberto | Honda Civic Type R | 2:14.5455 | 0:01.5895 |
11 | 34 | LMCT+ Racing GRM | James Moffat | Renault Megane RS | 2:14.8187 | 0:01.8627 |
12 | 41 | Valvoline Racing GRM | Kody Garland | Renault Megane RS | 2:15.0508 | 0:02.0948 |
13 | 15 | Michael Clemente Motorsport | Michael Clemente | Audi RS 3 | 2:15.1737 | 0:02.2177 |
14 | 10 | Ashley Seward Motorsport | Michael Caruso | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | 2:15.2354 | 0:02.2794 |
15 | 2 | MOUTAI /Zip Pay | Luke King | Hyundai i30N | 2:15.5153 | 0:02.5593 |
16 | 22 | Melbourne Performance Centre | Iain McDougall | Audi RS 3 | 2:15.9377 | 0:02.9817 |
17 | 20 | Peugeot Sport GRM | Teddy Clairet | Peugeot 308 | 2:15.9796 | 0:03.0236 |
18 | 110 | Team Soutar Motorsport | Zac Soutar | Honda Civic Type R | 2:16.5999 | 0:03.6439 |
19 | 999 | MPC Team LIQUI MOLY | William Brown | Audi RS 3 | 2:17.4089 | 0:04.4529 |