With five minutes to go in the final practice session, Shane van Gisbergen shot to the top of the times to record the day’s fastest lap around the Hidden Valley circuit.
His 1min09.347 surpassed Jamie Whincup’s fast lap, set early in the session, by 0.275sec – a sign ‘SVG’ can bounce back after a shocking run at the last round in Perth.
Holden Racing Team’s James Courtney was third quickest, and the only other driver to record a time in the 1min09s today.
Rick Kelly came home fourth, after his three Nissan teammates all ended practice two in the top 10.
Russell Ingall made an appearance fifth, with Michael Caruso, both Volvos of Robert Dahlgren and Scott McLaughlin, Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom all in the top 10.
Dahlgren sat in pit lane for much of the session with an electrical issue, but once the S60 was on-track he was just 0.84sec off the leader.
Others to note include first Erebus Lee Holdsworth 11, P2 fast man James Moffat in 14, Garth Tander 16, Brad Jones Racing’s Jason Bright and Fabian Coulthard 19 and 20, and Chaz Mostert 23.
Click here for full session results and stay tuned for the complete day’s wrap.
Two back-to-back qualifying sessions kick off from 11.40am local time tomorrow, with two 100km races to follow at the SKYCITY Triple Crown.
