Jamie Whincup will head into this evening’s V8 Supercars qualifying session at Albert Park as the man to beat after topping Practice 2.
The Red Bull Racing Australia Holden emerged fastest after a late flurry of soft tyre efforts.
Team-mate Craig Lowndes had earlier repeated his Practice 1 performance by going to the top on his second lap, remaining in that position until just four of the 30 minutes remained.
Todd Kelly was the first to dip into his race allocation, moving temporarily to head of the order by a full second in his Nissan.
Alex Premat then enjoyed a fleeting turn at the top before Whincup’s 1:56.66s lap proved too good for all comers.
Mark Winterbottom got closest to the Red Bull Holden, ending up just 0.15s shy after completing his lap with the chequered flag flying.
Premat and Lowndes ended up third and fourth respectively ahead of Scott McLaughlin, Tony D’Alberto, Shane van Gisbergen, Jonathon Webb, Todd Kelly and Will Davison.
Like Practice 1, the session was free of red flag periods, although several drivers tasted the circuit’s grass verges as they tested the limits.
Qualifying will take place at 1830 local time this evening.
See below for the Practice 2 result
| 1 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 1:56.6623 | |
| 2 | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 1:56.8156 | 0:00.1533 |
| 3 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Alexandre Premat | Holden Commodore VF | 1:57.0633 | 0:00.4010 |
| 4 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 1:57.1191 | 0:00.4568 |
| 5 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Holden Commodore VF | 1:57.1497 | 0:00.4874 |
| 6 | Team HIFLEX | Tony D’Alberto | Holden Commodore VF | 1:57.1723 | 0:00.5100 |
| 7 | TEKNO Team VIP | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 1:57.3719 | 0:00.7096 |
| 8 | Tekno Autosports | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VF | 1:57.5018 | 0:00.8395 |
| 9 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:57.5444 | 0:00.8821 |
| 10 | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:57.6076 | 0:00.9453 |
| 11 | Jeld-wen FPR Ford | Alex Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:57.7261 | 0:01.0638 |
| 12 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VF | 1:57.9970 | 0:01.3347 |
| 13 | The Bottle-O FPR Ford | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 1:58.1358 | 0:01.4735 |
| 14 | ekol Racing | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VF | 1:58.2741 | 0:01.6118 |
| 15 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VF | 1:58.7195 | 0:02.0572 |
| 16 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 1:58.8234 | 0:02.1611 |
| 17 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 1:58.8795 | 0:02.2172 |
| 18 | Wilson Security Racing | Jonny Reid | Ford Falcon FG | 1:59.0021 | 0:02.3398 |
| 19 | Norton 360 Racing | James Moffat | Nissan Altima | 1:59.0369 | 0:02.3746 |
| 20 | Wilson Security Racing | Tim Blanchard | Ford Falcon FG | 1:59.1323 | 0:02.4700 |
| 21 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 1:59.2579 | 0:02.5956 |
| 22 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:59.2939 | 0:02.6316 |
| 23 | Norton 360 Racing | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 1:59.3372 | 0:02.6749 |
| 24 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VF | 1:59.5966 | 0:02.9343 |
| 25 | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:59.6972 | 0:03.0349 |
| 26 | Dodo Insurance Racing | Dean Fiore | Holden Commodore VF | 1:59.7276 | 0:03.0653 |
| 27 | SP Tools Racing | Maro Engel | Mercedes E63 AMG | 2:00.2096 | 0:03.5473 |
| 28 | Heavy Haulage Australia Racing | Tim Slade | Mercedes E63 AMG | 2:00.2832 | 0:03.6209 |
