Van Gisbergen dominates second practice

Shane van Gisbergen maintained his blistering form in practice for the Coates Hire Sydney 500 as he dominated the second session at the challenging street circuit.

The Tekno Autosports driver sat at the top of the timesheets for the majority of the 30 minute hit-out finishing with an impressive 1:27.8s effort on his final lap.

Van Gisbergen, who topped opening practice, was the only driver to post a time in the 1:27s bracket with his nearest rival Jason Bright a full 0.7s adrift of the Kiwi.

Bright slotted into second spot as the chequered flag flew with Prodrive’s David Reynolds in third.

“We’ve obviously got a bit of a tyre advantage,” said Van Gisbergen of his pre-marked rubber.

“But the car’s fantastic. We’re on good tyres testing what we’re going to have for the race.

“It’s pretty promising, I like this place. You’ve got to be so committed on the limit and the car suits the track.”

A late surge saw Lee Holdsworth emerge in fourth spot in his Walkinshaw Holden, which was just fractionally ahead of the factory HRT entry of James Courtney, who topped the times earlier in the session.

Fabian Coulthard, James Moffat, Scott Pye, Michael Caruso and Todd Kelly filled positions sixth through to 10th.

Championship leader Mark Winterbottom, who suffered a crash in Practice 1, could only manage a time good enough for P19, while title rival Craig Lowndes was just outside the top 10 in P11.

Meanwhile, Jamie Whincup was lucky to avoid damage when he clattered into the tyre barrier at the Turn 2-3 chicane. The six-time champion ended the session in 13th spot.

Tim Blanchard joined the session late as his LDM crew were forced to frantically repair his car following a collision with the wall in first practice.

Result: V8 Supercars Coates Hire Sydney 500 Practice 2