BJR sets the benchmark ahead of qualifying

Fabian Coulthard led a one-two for Brad Jones Racing as the intensity increased in the final session prior to qualifying at the Clipsal 500.

The Lockwood Holden moved to the top as the chequered flag waved, with the Kiwi’s 1:20.44s good enough to withstand a late reply from previous fast-man Jason Bright.

Lee Holdsworth ended the session with two times that were good enough for third fastest in an encouraging turn of speed from the #4 Erebus Mercedes.

Craig Lowndes, Rick Kelly, Jamie Whincup, Tim Slade, Scott McLaughlin, Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert ensured that all five marques were represented in the top 10.

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After two relatively trouble-free sessions, several tagged the scenery as they upped the ante in Practice 3.

Garth Tander made side-on contact with the Turn 8 exit wall on his first flying lap and took no further part in the session.

“It wasn’t in the session plan but it’s one of those things,” Tander told Speedcafe.com afterward.

“It just understeered at Turn 8 and did a fair bit of damage to the lower control arm and steering arm.

“If we really wanted to and hustled it we could have had the car back out in the session, but we’ll just take our time and get back out for qualy.”

Will Davison and James Moffat both clipped the Turn 1 tyre bundle during the session, with the latter’s car missing the final 10 minutes as a result

Scott Pye meanwhile found the barriers at the exit of Turn 6 and also missed the closing stages.

The first red flag of the day was called with 11 minutes left for debris on the circuit.

The V8 Supercars will return to the track for qualifying from 1500.

See below for the full Practice 3 result

1	Lockwood Racing	Fabian Coulthard	Holden Commodore VF	01:20.44
2	Team BOC	Jason Bright	Holden Commodore VF	01:20.54	00:00.10
3	Erebus Motorsport V8	Lee Holdsworth	Mercedes E63 AMG	01:20.64	00:00.20
4	Red Bull Racing Australia	Craig Lowndes	Holden Commodore VF	01:20.74	00:00.30
5	Jack Daniel’s Racing	Rick Kelly	Nissan Altima	01:20.75	00:00.31
6	Red Bull Racing Australia	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore VF	01:20.77	00:00.33
7	Supercheap Auto Racing	Tim Slade	Holden Commodore VF	01:20.85	00:00.41
8	Valvoline Racing GRM	Scott McLaughlin	Volvo S60	01:20.88	00:00.44
9	Walkinshaw Racing	Nick Percat	Holden Commodore VF	01:20.92	00:00.48
10	Ford Pepsi Max Crew	Chaz Mostert	Ford Falcon FG	01:20.94	00:00.50
11	Holden Racing Team	James Courtney	Holden Commodore VF	01:21.00	00:00.56
12	Ford Pepsi Max Crew	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Falcon FG	01:21.00	00:00.56
13	Jack Daniel’s Racing	Todd Kelly	Nissan Altima	01:21.08	00:00.64
14	Team Tekno VIP Petfoods	Shane Van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore VF	01:21.14	00:00.70
15	The Bottle-O Racing Team	David Reynolds	Ford Falcon FG	01:21.18	00:00.75
16	Wilson Security Racing	Scott Pye	Ford Falcon FG	01:21.21	00:00.77
17	Norton Hornets	Michael Caruso	Nissan Altima	01:21.23	00:00.79
18	Erebus Motorsport V8	Will Davison	Mercedes E63 AMG	01:21.33	00:00.89
19	Team JELD-WEN	Jack Perkins	Ford Falcon FG	01:21.35	00:00.91
20	Repair Management Aust Racing	Russell Ingall	Holden Commodore VF	01:21.40	00:00.96
21	Norton Hornets	James Moffat	Nissan Altima	01:21.51	00:01.07
22	Team Advam/GB	Dale Wood	Holden Commodore VF	01:21.52	00:01.09
23	Valvoline Racing GRM	Robert Dahlgren	Volvo S60	01:21.57	00:01.13
24	Wilson Security Racing	David Wall	Ford Falcon FG	01:21.60	00:01.17
25	Holden Racing Team	Garth Tander	Holden Commodore VF

*For a full preview and armchair guide to this weekend’s Clipsal 500 click here 

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