Chris Gilmour has topped the opening practice sessions ahead of this weekend's Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship round at Queensland Raceway.
The reigning Gold Star champion set a time of 1m05.71s, 0.5s under the existing Formula 3 lap record on the recently-resurfaced circuit.
Gilmour trails title leader James Winslow by 44 points going into his home round – a nearly insurmountable margin with just this and Phillip Island remaining on the calendar.
He says that winning is the only thing on his mind this weekend.
“The car is great and felt good from the first lap this morning,” he said, having missed most of the first practice session when his rear wing broke.
“We knew we would be fast here but I was struggling through the middle sector with a flat-spotted front tyre that I think was costing me between four and five tenths (of a second), so there's more to come. I was targeting a 1m04s lap, to be honest, so there's more in it.
“I think it's impossible to win the championship, so race wins are all I'm after this weekend.
“I'd love to win at home in front of all my family, friends and sponsors that are here. That's the important thing.”
R-Tek Motorsport's Steel Guiliana finished second overall, 0.33s behind the fast Queenslander.
Jordan Skinner was fastest in the first practice and third in the second driving his Team BRM Dallara, narrowly ahead of title leader Winslow in both sessions.
Lockie Marshall and Hayden Cooper were evenly matched in the Forpark Australia National Class, the pair split 0.01s in the second session and fifth and sixth outright, respectively.
John Magro found himself with an overheating Mercedes Benz-powered Dallara in Practice 1, and sat out the second session as Team BRM chased the issue.
Roman Krumins made the debut of the Mygale M10 chassis in the first session and lapped consistently as he re-acquainted himself after more than six months out of the hot seat, however an oil leak sidelined the team in the second session.
It's the first F3 meeting for both the new Mygale and the Harvest Motorsport team running it; however both are confident the teething problem will be rectified for qualifying tomorrow.
Queenslander Jon Mills missed today's running due to business commitments, but will qualify tomorrow morning.
The 20-minute session starts at 0815am local time tomorrow, ahead of the first 16-lap race later in the day.