Whincup fastest in Bathurst 12 Hour Practice 5

The 2017 Bathurst 12 Hour winner’s 2:03.1132s in the #88 Mercedes-AMG is the second-fastest lap of the weekend thus far, after Audi pilot Kelvin van der Linde set a 2:02.7346s in chilly Friday morning conditions.

Pro-Am class cars finished first and second in the latest session, with Manthey EMA’s Harry King setting a 2:03.5098s in the #911 Porsche.

The #130 GruppeM Racing Mercedes-AMG ended up third thanks to David Reynolds’ 2:03.6618s.

The first practice session of Saturday morning at Mount Panorama gave competitors another 60 minutes of practice to tune up their cars for qualifying and/or tomorrow’s race, without any pressure of determining qualifying groups.

The field was greeted by significantly warmer temperatures than they had experienced a day earlier, and Jordan Love’s 2:08.3427s in the #88 Triple Eight Mercedes-AMG was the fastest first flyer.

However, with a number of cars on green tyres, it was only a handful of laps before Kelvin van der Linde wheeled the #22 Melbourne Performance Centre Audi to a 2:05.0268s.

Sheldon van der Linde then set a 2:04.4554s in the #32 Team WRT BMW before 2023 pole-sitter Maro Engel punched out a 2:04.2639s in the #130 GruppeM Mercedes-AMG.

Three-time back-to-back race winner Jules Gounon was first into the ‘threes’ when he clocked a 2:03.8527s in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG just before the 20-minute mark.

The first red flag of the weekend came when Jessie Bryan beached the #25 Method Motorsport McLaren GT4, which he is co-driving with Chaz Mostert and Marcos Flack, at Hell Corner.

While broadcast cameras did not capture the incident, the tyre marks suggested Bryan spun through the small grass infield section, yet somehow missed the pit wall.

The session resumed with just under 32 minutes remaining and it was soon both of the Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes-AMGs making a move.

Broc Feeney climbed as high as fifth in the Pro class #888 entry before Whincup vaulted the Pro-Am #88 entry to second on a 2:04.1470s.

Whincup was not done either, shooting to the top next time around on a 2:03.1132s.

King made for Pro-Am cars first and second when he drove the #911 Manthey EMA Porsche to a 2:03.7971s and then a 2:03.5098s on consecutive laps.

Meanwhile, the #46 WRT BMW was serving a 10-minute hold penalty in pit lane, reportedly for passing under the red flag.

With 11 minutes remaining, 2017 Bathurst 1000 winner Reynolds put the #130 GruppeM Mercedes-AMG back into third on a 2:03.6618s.

That was how the order remained, with the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG fourth, from the #77 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG and the #888 Triple Eight Mercedes-AMG.

The #22 MPC Audi only ended up ninth after Christopher Haase caught traffic on his final laps.

Practice 6, which will determine the top and bottom 50 percent for qualifying, starts this morning at 10:00 local time/AEDT/UTC +11.

Results: Practice 5 All drivers