Shane van Gisbergen proved the quickest man in the closing stages of the third and final practice session for the Skycity Triple Crown at Hidden Valley.
The Kiwi, who has one career win at the Darwin circuit to his name, produced a 1:09.34s on his penultimate run in the last of the 20 minute hit-outs.
Van Gisbergen used a set of pre-marked soft tyres to set his time, which had naturally proved quicker than the new set of hards he had run earlier in the session.
The Tekno Holden was momentarily held-up by James Moffat's Nissan towards the end of the lap, before Van Gisbergen picked up a tow from the Nissan down the front-straight.
Jamie Whincup and James Courtney continued their strong form from earlier in the day to be second and third respectively in their Holdens.
Rick Kelly, Russell Ingall and Micahel Caruso filled fourth through sixth, with the Nissans also backing up their earlier practice speed.
Robert Dahlgren spent the first two thirds of the session pit-bound with electrical issues before leaping to seventh on the closing stages, edging out team-mate Scott McLaughlin.
Title contenders Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom completed the top 10.
The V8 Supercars will return to the track for back-to-back qualifying sessions from 1140 tomorrow.
VIDEO: van Gisbergen speaks after Friday practice
PRACTICE 3
Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Difference |
1 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Team Tekno VIP Petfoods | Holden Commodore VF | 1:09.3476 | |
2 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Red Bull Racing Australia | Holden Commodore VF | 1:09.6227 | 0:00.2751 |
3 | 22 | James Courtney | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore VF | 1:09.8988 | 0:00.5512 |
4 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Jack Daniel's Racing | Nissan Altima | 1:10.1279 | 0:00.7803 |
5 | 23 | Russell Ingall | Repair Management Aust Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:10.1518 | 0:00.8042 |
6 | 36 | Michael Caruso | Norton Hornets | Nissan Altima | 1:10.1796 | 0:00.8320 |
7 | 34 | Robert Dahlgren | Valvoline Racing GRM | Volvo S60 | 1:10.1873 | 0:00.8397 |
8 | 33 | Scott McLaughlin | Valvoline Racing GRM | Volvo S60 | 1:10.3574 | 0:01.0098 |
9 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Red Bull Racing Australia | Holden Commodore VF | 1:10.5314 | 0:01.1838 |
10 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Pepsi Max Crew | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.5610 | 0:01.2134 |
11 | 4 | Lee Holdsworth | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:10.5753 | 0:01.2277 |
12 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Jack Daniel's Racing | Nissan Altima | 1:10.5914 | 0:01.2438 |
13 | 55 | David Reynolds | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Ford Falcon FG | 1:10.6095 | 0:01.2619 |
14 | 360 | James Moffat | Norton Hornets | Nissan Altima | 1:10.6426 | 0:01.2950 |
15 | 9 | Will Davison | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:10.6802 | 0:01.3326 |
16 | 47 | Tim Slade | Supercheap Auto Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:10.6890 | 0:01.3414 |
17 | 2 | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore VF | 1:10.7882 | 0:01.4406 |
18 | 222 | Nick Percat | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:10.8453 | 0:01.4977 |
19 | 8 | Jason Bright | Team BOC | Holden Commodore VF | 1:10.9811 | 0:01.6335 |
20 | 14 | Fabian Coulthard | Lockwood Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.0367 | 0:01.6891 |
21 | 21 | Dale Wood | Team Advam/GB | Holden Commodore VF | 1:11.0488 | 0:01.7012 |
22 | 16 | Scott Pye | Wilson Security Racing | Ford Falcon FG | 1:11.1457 | 0:01.7981 |
23 | 6 | Chaz Mostert | Ford Pepsi Max Crew | Ford Falcon FG | 1:11.1509 | 0:01.8033 |
24 | 17 | David Wall | Wilson Security Racing | Ford Falcon FG | 1:11.3862 | 0:02.0386 |
25 | 18 | Jack Perkins | Team JELD-WEN | Ford Falcon FG | 1:11.5789 | 0:02.2313 |