Scott Pye continued DJR Team Penske’s strong form by topping Practice 1 at a drying Phillip Island Circuit.
The 60 minute session started in full wet conditions, with early flying laps in the 1:48s bracket and beyond.
It took almost 40 minutes before the track was good enough for slicks, after which times tumbled quickly.
Pye’s best of 1:32.06s was set just seconds before the chequered flag fell, edging Nissan’s Todd Kelly by 0.09s.
“We haven’t done that much running in the wet so we experimented a lot with (tyre) pressures and set-up,” said Pye, who scored a career first podium last time out at Pukekohe.
“I felt like just before we went to the slicks we were fairly strong and the guys just put the car back to a dry set-up and we’ve rolled out competitive again which is great.”
Pye and Kelly had a tight moment after their fastest laps when the Nissan went off at Turn 1 and rejoined in front of the Ford, which then ran off at Turn 2 in avoidance.
“I was hoping that he’d be a little bit further back (when he rejoined) so that when I got to Turn 2 I could go around him,” said Pye.
“Unfortunately though when you rejoin off the wet track he’s going to come arrowing across, so I just took the precautionary side and gave him plenty of room and ran off myself.”
Jason Bright ended up third fastest ahead of Mark Winterbottom, David Reynolds, Jamie Whincup, James Moffat and Nick Percat.
Percat completed the entire session aboard the #222 Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Holden and was among many to briefly sit atop the order as the track dried.
Newcomers Dean Canto and Chris Pither were arguably the most hurt by the weather, ending up at the bottom of the order in 24th and 25th as they adapt to the Erebus Mercedes and Super Black Ford respectively.
Fabian Coulthard, Reynolds and McLaughlin were among those to have off track excursions in the early wet running, but each was able to rejoin without damage.
Result: V8 Supercars WD-40 Phillip Island Super Sprint Practice 1
1 | DJR Team Penske | Scott Pye | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:32.0552*H | |
2 | Nissan Motorsport | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:32.1472 H | 00.0920 |
3 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 1:32.2901 H | 00.2349 |
4 | Pepsi Max Crew | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:32.3086 H | 00.2534 |
5 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:32.3710 H | 00.3158 |
6 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 1:32.6039 H | 00.5487 |
7 | Nissan Motorsport | James Moffat | Nissan Altima | 1:32.7020 H | 00.6468 |
8 | Repair Management Aust Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 1:32.7259 H | 00.6707 |
9 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Volvo S60 | 1:32.7627 H | 00.7075 |
10 | Freightliner Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VF | 1:32.7865 H | 00.7313 |
11 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 1:32.8057 H | 00.7505 |
12 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 1:32.8489 H | 00.7937 |
13 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 1:32.9415 H | 00.8863 |
14 | Pepsi Max Crew | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:33.0184 H | 00.9632 |
15 | GB Galvanizing Racing | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VF | 1:33.0201 H | 00.9649 |
16 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | David Wall | Volvo S60 | 1:33.0692 H | 01.0140 |
17 | Team Cooldrive | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VF | 1:33.1448 H | 01.0896 |
18 | Nissan Motorsport | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 1:33.2830 H | 01.2278 |
19 | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Will Davison | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:33.2888 H | 01.2336 |
20 | Team Darrell Lea STIX | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 1:33.3561 H | 01.3009 |
21 | Nissan Motorsport | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:33.4213 H | 01.3661 |
22 | Walkinshaw Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VF | 1:33.4415 H | 01.3863 |
23 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 1:33.4914 H | 01.4362 |
24 | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Dean Canto | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:33.8909 H | 01.8357 |
25 | Super Black Racing | Chris Pither | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:33.9095 H | 01.8543 |