Fabian Coulthard set the fastest time of the day to top the third and final practice session for the V8 Supercars at Winton.
A dry Practice 3 ended with a five minute flurry of fast times following the day’s fourth red flag.
Craig Lowndes sat atop the order when the chequered flag flew, but was soon eclipsed by Coulthard, Lee Holdsworth and Shane van Gisbergen.
Coulthard’s best was more than a second quicker than the previous practice lap record, set by Rick Kelly in 2010.
The top 16 all lapped under the record.
The fast times came at the end of a day that started with drivers complaining of a lack of grip, caused by a recent crack-sealing work at the Victorian venue.
Michael Caruso and Scott Pye caused the two stoppages in Practice 3 with single-car offs at Turn 3 and 7 respectively.
The earlier 20 minute hit-outs were also halted by red flags.
Six Holdens ended Practice 3 inside the top seven, with the leading Nissan of Rick Kelly in eighth.
Scott McLaughlin managed ninth quickest despite continuing to struggle with power steering issues in the Volvo, while 13th quickest David Reynolds was the best of the Fords.
The V8 Supercars will return to the circuit for two 10 minute qualifying sessions and a pair of 100km races tomorrow.
See below for the full Practice 3 resultÂ
Position | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Difference |
1 | Â Fabian Coulthard | Lockwood Racing | Â Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.7965R | |
2 | Â Lee Holdsworth | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Â Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:21.1010r | 0:00.3045 |
3 | Â Shane Van Gisbergen | Team Tekno VIP Petfoods | Â Holden Commodore VF | 1:21.1215r | 0:00.3250 |
4 | Â Craig Lowndes | Red Bull Racing Australia | Â Holden Commodore VF | 1:21.1324r | 0:00.3359 |
5 | Â Tim Slade | Supercheap Auto Racing | Â Holden Commodore VF | 1:21.2183r | 0:00.4218 |
6 | Â Jason Bright | Team BOC | Â Holden Commodore VF | 1:21.2323r | 0:00.4358 |
7 | Â Jamie Whincup | Red Bull Racing Australia | Â Holden Commodore VF | 1:21.2743r | 0:00.4778 |
8 | Â Rick Kelly | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Â Nissan Altima | 1:21.3679r | 0:00.5714 |
9 | Â Scott McLaughlin | Valvoline Racing GRM | Â Volvo S60 | 1:21.4273r | 0:00.6308 |
10 | Â Will Davison | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Â Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:21.4580r | 0:00.6615 |
11 | Â James Moffat | Norton Hornets | Â Nissan Altima | 1:21.5044r | 0:00.7079 |
12 | Â Nick Percat | Walkinshaw Racing | Â Holden Commodore VF | 1:21.5373r | 0:00.7408 |
13 | Â David Reynolds | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Â Ford Falcon FG | 1:21.5546r | 0:00.7581 |
14 | Â Chaz Mostert | Ford Pepsi Max Crew | Â Ford Falcon FG | 1:21.6669r | 0:00.8704 |
15 | Â Dale Wood | Team Advam/GB | Â Holden Commodore VF | 1:21.7952r | 0:00.9987 |
16 | Â Michael Caruso | Norton Hornets | Â Nissan Altima | 1:21.8395r | 0:01.0430 |
17 | Â Jack Perkins | Team JELD-WEN | Â Ford Falcon FG | 1:21.8999 | 0:01.1034 |
18 | Â David Wall | Wilson Security Racing | Â Ford Falcon FG | 1:21.9136 | 0:01.1171 |
19 | Â Mark Winterbottom | Ford Pepsi Max Crew | Â Ford Falcon FG | 1:22.0719 | 0:01.2754 |
20 | Â Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | Â Holden Commodore VF | 1:22.1130 | 0:01.3165 |
21 | Â Robert Dahlgren | Valvoline Racing GRM | Â Volvo S60 | 1:22.4051 | 0:01.6086 |
22 | Â James Courtney | Holden Racing Team | Â Holden Commodore VF | 1:22.5131 | 0:01.7166 |
23 | Â Russell Ingall | Repair Management Aust Racing | Â Holden Commodore VF | 1:22.6219 | 0:01.8254 |
24 | Â Scott Pye | Wilson Security Racing | Â Ford Falcon FG | 1:23.0277 | 0:02.2312 |
25 | Â Todd Kelly | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Â Nissan Altima | 1:23.3587 | 0:02.5622 |