Ford, Holden and Mercedes-Benz were all represented in the top three places in the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Coates Hire Ipswich 360.
The Erebus Motorsport Mercedes team backed up its strong pace from Friday, with Tim Slade proving third fastest behind Ford Performance Racing’s Will Davison and Red Bull Racing Australia’s Jamie Whincup.
Davison recorded the fastest time of the 30 minute session with little over two minutes remaining; stopping the clocks at 1:09.29s.
That proved 0.13s clear of Whincup’s earlier best in a session that saw the fancied Ford and Holden entries show their hand following low-key Fridays.
Craig Lowndes also spent time at the top of the sheets late in the going before ending up fourth.
Lee Holdsworth was fifth in the second Mercedes ahead of Jason Bright, Maro Engel, Scott Mclaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen and David Reynolds.
Secure your spot today.
The Nissans continued to struggle, with James Moffat the fastest Altima driver down in 16th.
Moffat’s team-mate Michael Caruso completed the field, with all 28 cars separated by a single second.
The V8 Supercars will return to the track for a single 20 minute qualifying session prior to Race 22 this afternoon.
See below for the full Practice 3 result
| 1 | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 01:09.27 | |
| 2 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 01:09.39 | 00:00.13 |
| 3 | Heavy Haulage Australia Racin | Tim Slade | Mercedes E63 AMG | 01:09.47 | 00:00.21 |
| 4 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 01:09.49 | 00:00.22 |
| 5 | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Mercedes E63 AMG | 01:09.57 | 00:00.30 |
| 6 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 01:09.57 | 00:00.30 |
| 7 | SP Tools Racing | Maro Engel | Mercedes E63 AMG | 01:09.59 | 00:00.32 |
| 8 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Holden Commodore VF | 01:09.60 | 00:00.33 |
| 9 | TEKNO Team VIP | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 01:09.66 | 00:00.39 |
| 10 | The Bottle-O FPR Ford | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 01:09.69 | 00:00.42 |
| 11 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 01:09.70 | 00:00.43 |
| 12 | Wilson Security Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | 01:09.77 | 00:00.50 |
| 13 | Wilson Security Racing | Tim Blanchard | Ford Falcon FG | 01:09.88 | 00:00.61 |
| 14 | Team HIFLEX | Tony D’Alberto | Holden Commodore VF | 01:09.93 | 00:00.66 |
| 15 | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 01:09.94 | 00:00.67 |
| 16 | Norton 360 Racing | James Moffat | Nissan Altima | 01:09.95 | 00:00.68 |
| 17 | ekol Racing | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VF | 01:09.97 | 00:00.70 |
| 18 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VF | 01:09.98 | 00:00.71 |
| 19 | Jeld-wen FPR Ford | Alex Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 01:09.98 | 00:00.71 |
| 20 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VF | 01:09.98 | 00:00.71 |
| 21 | Dodo Insurance Racing | Dean Fiore | Holden Commodore VF | 01:10.01 | 00:00.74 |
| 22 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 01:10.02 | 00:00.75 |
| 23 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 01:10.05 | 00:00.78 |
| 24 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Alexandre Premat | Holden Commodore VF | 01:10.13 | 00:00.86 |
| 25 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 01:10.14 | 00:00.87 |
| 26 | Tekno Autosports | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VF | 01:10.17 | 00:00.90 |
| 27 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VF | 01:10.24 | 00:00.97 |
| 28 | Norton 360 Racing | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 01:10.27 | 00:01.01 |
