Scott McLaughlin has proved his pace on his home circuit by topping the time sheets in today’s final practice session at the ITM 500 Auckland.
The Kiwi was down the order for the majority of the session, but a late run saw McLaughlin go quickest when he posted a 1.03.16secs around the Pukekohe Park circuit.
Championship leader Mark Winterbottom trailed the S60 Volvo by 0.17secs, ahead of championship rival Craig Lowndes in third.
“This is probably the best feeling I’ve had for a long time,” McLaughlin said of his pace-setting time.
“The car feels good, I was actually surprised by the gap, but we’ve got to go out and do it again tomorrow and I’m sure the other guys will come out fast.
“It’s great to be on top and it’s good for the Kiwis to get a bit of a draw card for tomorrow. We’ve got four good Kiwis here and we’ll be giving it our best shot, and hopefully we come away with the bacon.”
Jamie Whincup brought the #1 entry home in fourth quickest, followed by Scott Pye, David Reynolds and hometown hero Shane van Gisbergen.
After holding the top spot for a large portion of the session, Lee Holdsworth ended the session 8th quickest ahead of teammate Tim Slade and Fabian Coulthard.
Click here for the full results.
The field was pushing hard during the hour-long session, which was interrupted by a red flag with eight minutes to go when Jason Bright locked up on the entry to turn four and speared into the wall.
The Brad Jones Racing pilot managed to get back on track, ending the session in 24th.
The V8 Supercars will hit the track for practice three tomorrow at 11.05am, before qualifying kicks off at 12.05pm.
