Jamie Whincup heads drying Practice 2
Jamie Whincup
Jamie Whincup has emerged fastest from Practice 2 at Albert Park.
The Clipsal 500 winner’s best time of 1:58.4s put the TeamVodafone Commodore over 0.1s clear of Garth Tander, with Jason Richards, Tim Slade and Mark Winterbottom rounding out the top five.
Several runners started the session on wet tyres, before quickly moving to slicks as strong winds helped dry the circuit.
At the completion of the half-hour session, Lee Holdsworth, Jason Bright, Craig Lowndes, James Courtney and Rick Kelly rounded out the top 10.
Several drivers had offs during the session as they explored the ever increasing grip levels.
The bumpy breaking area at Turn 9 caught out a host of drivers, including Tony D’Alberto, David Reynolds, Dean Fiore, Alex Davison, Craig Lowndes and Jason Richards.
The biggest incident of the session occurred in the opening 10 minutes, when Whincup spun wildly at Turn 13 after running wide over the wet exit curbing. The TeamVodafone Commodore emerged undamaged from the spin.
Dean Fiore was also in trouble, making minor contact with the tyre wall on the outside of Turn 5 in the dying moments.
| 1 | TeamVodafone | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:58.4121 |
| 2 | Toll Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:58.5520 |
| 3 | Team BOC | Jason Richards | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:58.5682 |
| 4 | Lucky 7 Racing | Tim Slade | Ford Falcon FG | 1:58.8753 |
| 5 | Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 1:58.8918 |
| 6 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:58.9095 |
| 7 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:58.9745 |
| 8 | TeamVodafone | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:59.1213 |
| 9 | Toll Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:59.1701 |
| 10 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:59.1751 |
| 11 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:59.2225 |
| 12 | Irwin Racing | Alex Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:59.2771 |
| 13 | Pepsi Max Crew | Greg Murphy | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:59.2787 |
| 14 | VIP Petfoods | Steve Owen | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:59.3409 |
| 15 | SP Tools Racing | Shane Van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon FG | 1:59.3449 |
| 16 | Trading Post FPR Falcon | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 1:59.4039 |
| 17 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:59.4662 |
| 18 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:59.4782 |
| 19 | Bundaberg Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:59.5056 |
| 20 | Stratco Racing | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:59.5663 |
| 21 | Jim Beam Racing | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon FG | 1:59.6559 |
| 22 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Paul Dumbrell | Ford Falcon FG | 1:59.9261 |
| 23 | Mother Energy Racing Team | Jonathon Webb | Ford Falcon FG | 2:00.0162 |
| 24 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:00.1705 |
| 25 | Gulf Western Oil Racing | Warren Luff | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:00.2064 |
| 26 | Jim Beam Racing | James Moffat | Ford Falcon FG | 2:00.3274 |
| 27 | Triple F Racing | Dean Fiore | Ford Falcon FG | 2:00.5662 |
| 28 | Wilson Security Racing | Tony D’Alberto | Ford Falcon FG | 2:00.6905 |
The V8 Supercars return to the track for qualifying at 18:30.
CLICK HERE for report and lap times from Practice 1.
Times to follow