Bathurst 12 Hour: Mostert rockets to top in P3

Chaz Mostert has produced a stunning late lap to leap to the fastest time in Practice 3 for the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.

Mostert registered a 2:03.31s to top the session in the MARC Cars Australia BMW M6 he is sharing with Max Twigg and Morgan Haber.

“I had one or two cars to get past on the straights. I was lucky to have a clear lap and fresh rubber,” Mostert said.

“There is bit more left in me.”

The late burst unseated Jamie Whincup from the top of the timing sheets after he posted a 2:04.24s, a fraction shy of his team-mate Toni Vilander’s 2:04.19s that headed P2.

In the dying minutes Whincup then had a scary moment going into The Cutting when he narrowly avoided putting the Ferrari into the wall.

Whincup took over the wheel of the Maranello Motorsports Ferrari 488 from Craig Lowndes who had earlier cut his first laps of the day in the Italian machine.

“I’m feeling quite at home. I’m pushing hard and we are just trying to get the car dialled in,” Whincup said.

As Whincup was attempting to lower his time even further Mostert produced a stunning lap, the first of the day below the 2:04s barrier.

Maxime Soulet put the #8 Bentley on top early before Andy Soucek extracted a 2:04.58s lap to finish third fastest in the Continental GT3.

Katsumasa Chiyo was next in the Nissan GT-R Nismo in 2:04.59s while Maro Engel was fifth in the HTP-run Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes AMG GT in 2:04.80s.

The final 50-minute practice session of the day is scheduled for 1605 local time.

Click here for full Practice 3 results.