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Mark Winterbottom kept Prodrive on top as the pace quickened in second practice for the V8 Supercars at Albert Park.
The second 30 minute session prior to qualifying concluded with a flurry of fast times as drivers moved from their pre-marked tyres to new soft compound rubber.
A 1:58.0s had Scott Pye on top ahead of the final minutes, which saw Rick Kelly, Chaz Mostert, Shane van Gisbergen and Winterbottom move to the top of the order in quick succession.
Winterbottom’s best of 1:56.68s proved a full 0.4s quicker than Van Gisbergen’s Red Bull Holden, which moments earlier had edged Mostert by less than 0.1s.
“We made a big improvement from the first outing,” smiled Winterbottom.
“This track is awesome, you’re just trying to hang on around these big corners.”
Kelly ended up fourth ahead of Cameron Waters and Fabian Coulthard, who ensured four of the six Falcons ended up in the top six.
The FG X Fords dominated at Albert Park last year, scoring one-two finishes in every race in the hands of Prodrive’s Winterbottom and Mostert.
Will Davison ended up 14th having found the concrete late in the going aboard his Tekno Holden.
The former Erebus driver lost control through the high-speed Turn 8, resulting in the left-rear of his Commodore make significant contact with the concrete.
Davison drove the car back to the pits, where the team will have an hour to fix the damage prior to qualifying at 1650 local time.
Result: V8 Supercars Practice 2, Albert Park
1 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG/X | 01:56.68 | |
2 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 01:57.10 | 00:00.42 |
3 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG/X | 01:57.19 | 00:00.51 |
4 | Nissan Motorsport | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 01:57.39 | 00:00.70 |
5 | Prodrive Racing Australia | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG/X | 01:57.41 | 00:00.73 |
6 | DJR Team Penske | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG/X | 01:57.41 | 00:00.73 |
7 | Erebus Motorsport Penrite | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VF | 01:57.42 | 00:00.74 |
8 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 01:57.50 | 00:00.82 |
9 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 01:57.51 | 00:00.83 |
10 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 01:57.51 | 00:00.83 |
11 | Team Vortex | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 01:57.53 | 00:00.85 |
12 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Volvo S60 | 01:57.63 | 00:00.94 |
13 | Freightliner Racing | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 01:57.64 | 00:00.96 |
14 | Team Darrell Lea STIX | Will Davison | Holden Commodore VF | 01:57.75 | 00:01.07 |
15 | DJR Team Penske | Scott Pye | Ford Falcon FG/X | 01:58.03 | 00:01.34 |
16 | Nissan Motorsport | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 01:58.17 | 00:01.49 |
17 | carsales Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 01:58.33 | 00:01.65 |
18 | Team Cooldrive | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VF | 01:58.47 | 00:01.78 |
19 | LD Motorsports | Andre Heimgartner | Holden Commodore VF | 01:58.54 | 00:01.86 |
20 | GB Galvanizing Racing | Dale Wood | Nissan Altima | 01:58.65 | 00:01.97 |
21 | Superblack Racing | Chris Pither | Ford Falcon FG/X | 01:58.69 | 00:02.01 |
22 | Plus Fitness Racing | Aaren Russell | Holden Commodore VF | 01:59.34 | 00:02.65 |
23 | Preston Hire Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VF | 01:59.38 | 00:02.70 |
24 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | James Moffat | Volvo S60 | 01:59.42 | 00:02.74 |
25 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 01:59.51 | 00:02.83 |
26 | LD Motorsports | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 02:00.58 | 00:03.89 |
