Jamie Whincup has topped the time sheets at the conclusion of first practice for the MSS Security V8 Supercars Challenge at Albert Park.
The TeamVodafone driver set a best of 1:59.60s with less than 10 of the 30 minutes remaining.
Lee Holdsworth made a late charge to second fastest in the IRWIN Racing Ford, albeit almost 0.4s slower than the reigning champion.
Mark Winterbottom ended up third having briefly held the top spot before Whincup’s effort, while Jason Bright and Will Davison rounded out the top five.
Shane van Gisbergen, Craig Lowndes, Tim Slade, Michael Caruso and Todd Kelly filled sixth through 10th.
Craig Lowndes surived two offs during the session, the first coming at Turn 3 on his maiden flying lap.
The most spectacular off was saved for Davison, who slid sideways through the Turn 1 gravel trap after locking his right-front tyre on the entry.
The session was run in dry conditions despite showers having briefly hit the circuit earlier this morning.
A second 30 minute V8 Supercars practice session will take place at 1610 local time, followed by 30 minutes of qualifying from 1830.
All cars are running on their bank of eight pre-marked hard tyres during the practice sessions, with the allocation of eight hards and 12 softs to be used from qualifying.
See below for the full Practice 1 result
1 | TeamVodafone | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VE2 | 1:59.5954 | |
2 | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Falcon FG | 1:59.7024 | 0:00.1070 |
3 | Orrcon Steel FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 1:59.9788 | 0:00.3834 |
4 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:00.0965 | 0:00.5011 |
5 | Trading Post FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 2:00.1708 | 0:00.5754 |
6 | SP Tools Racing | Shane Van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon FG | 2:00.1716 | 0:00.5762 |
7 | TeamVodafone | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:00.2239 | 0:00.6285 |
8 | Lucky 7 Racing | Tim Slade | Ford Falcon FG | 2:00.2555 | 0:00.6601 |
9 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:00.3091 | 0:00.7137 |
10 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:00.3132 | 0:00.7178 |
11 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:00.3872 | 0:00.7918 |
12 | Tony D’Alberto Racing | Tony D’Alberto | Ford Falcon FG | 2:00.5123 | 0:00.9169 |
13 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:00.6133 | 0:01.0179 |
14 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:00.6895 | 0:01.0941 |
15 | Tekno Autosports | Michael Patrizi | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:00.7005 | 0:01.1051 |
16 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 2:00.7320 | 0:01.1366 |
17 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:00.7819 | 0:01.1865 |
18 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:00.9362 | 0:01.3408 |
19 | Jim Beam Racing | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon FG | 2:00.9891 | 0:01.3937 |
20 | Jim Beam Racing | Dean Fiore | Ford Falcon FG | 2:01.2999 | 0:01.7045 |
21 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:01.4791 | 0:01.8837 |
22 | V.I.P. Petfoods | Steve Owen | Ford Falcon FG | 2:01.6271 | 0:02.0317 |
23 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Alexandre Premat | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:01.8073 | 0:02.2119 |
24 | Pepsi Max Crew | Greg Murphy | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:01.8677 | 0:02.2723 |
25 | Team Norton DJR | James Moffat | Ford Falcon FG | 2:02.0783 | 0:02.4829 |
26 | Tekno Autosports | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:02.0817 | 0:02.4863 |
27 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:02.5626 | 0:02.9672 |
28 | Team iSelect | Taz Douglas | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:03.8189 | 0:04.2235 |