Last gasp Canto stars in Bathurst Practice 4  

A last gasp effort from Dean Canto put Prodrive on top in a hotly contested co-driver practice session ahead of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

Mark Winterbottom’s co-driver put the #5 Allan Moffat liveried Falcon on top for the second time this week after he posted an impressive 2:05.33s effort in the dying moments.

Canto, who was fastest in Practice 2 yesterday, managed to pip Garry Rogers Motorsport’s James Golding by 0.0088s.

“It is always exciting when you see a five on the dash and then get the call over the radio that you are P1 for the session,” said Canto.

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“As co-drivers we are always trying to do out best out there, it is not about being the quickest but it is always nice to be on top.

“We ran quite long in that session with one set of tyres with a high mileage. The car was still good on those tyres, high fives on high kilometre tyres.”

Golding was among a group drivers to improve in the closing stages as the session resumed with four minutes remaining after Taz Douglas caused a late red flag.

Mobil 1 HSV Racing’s Warren Luff held sway for much of the final half hour in the #02 Commodore before being pushed down to third at the chequered flag.

Paul Dumbrell snatched fourth spot in the #88 Red Bull Holden he shares with Jamie Whincup, while Steve Owen, who enjoyed spells at the top of the times, was fifth in the #55 Chaz Mostert Falcon.

Brad Jones Racing’s Todd Hazelwood showed his potential by securing sixth ahead of Sandown 500 winner Richie Stanaway.

Stanaway’s session was punctuated by a moment in the pitlane when his car stalled.

The team were forced to wheel the car back to the garage before it eventually fired up after a suspected air box fire cut the engine.

The Shell V-Power Racing Falcons of Tony D’Alberto and Alex Premat were eighth and ninth, as Macauley Jones rounded out the top 10 in the #8 BJR Holden.

Steve Richards was 13th fastest in the Commodore he will share with Craig Lowndes, while the repaired #97 Red Bull Holden driven by Matt Campbell claimed 16th spot.

Andre Heimgartner finished the session in 24th after taking over the #14 Commodore from the injured Ash Walsh.

The session was red flagged after 23 minutes when Chris Pither locked a brake and found himself beached in the gravel trap at The Chase in the #99 Erebus Motorsport Holden.

Pither returned the track to end the hit out in 22nd spot.

Practice 4 was halted for a second time with six minutes remaining when Douglas locked the rear wheels of his Lucas Dumbrell Commodore and spun into the gravel trap on the exit of Murrays corner.

Primary drivers will jump back in the cars for Practice 5 at 1140 local time.

Results: Virgin Australia Supercars Championship Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Practice 4

1	The Bottle-O Racing Team	Dean Canto	Ford Falcon FG/X	2:05.3368
2	Wilson Security Racing GRM	James Golding	Holden Commodore VF	2:05.3456	0.0088
3	Mobil 1 HSV Racing	Warren Luff	Holden Commodore VF	2:05.4848	0.1480
4	Red Bull Holden Racing Aust	Paul Dumbrell	Holden Commodore VF	2:05.5450	0.2082
5	Supercheap Auto Racing	Steve Owen	Ford Falcon FG/X	2:05.5539	0.2171
6	Team CoolDrive	Todd Hazelwood	Holden Commodore VF	2:05.8204	0.4836
7	Monster Energy Racing	Richie Stanaway	Ford Falcon FG/X	2:05.8795	0.5427
8	Shell V-Power Racing Team	Tony D’Alberto	Ford Falcon FG/X	2:05.8950	0.5582
9	Shell V-Power Racing Team	Alexandre Premat	Ford Falcon FG/X	2:06.0554	0.7186
10	Brad Jones Racing	Macauley Jones	Holden Commodore VF	2:06.1096	0.7728
11	Mobil 1 HSV Racing	Jack Perkins	Holden Commodore VF	2:06.2457	0.9089
12	Team Harvey Norman	David Russell	Nissan Altima	2:06.2843	0.9475
13	TeamVortex	Steven Richards	Holden Commodore VF	2:06.4563	1.1195
14	Nissan Motorsport	Dean Fiore	Nissan Altima	2:06.4716	1.1348
15	Sengled Racing	David Wall	Nissan Altima	2:06.5905	1.2537
16	Red Bull Holden Racing Aust	Matthew Campbell	Holden Commodore VF	2:06.7123	1.3755
17	carsales Racing	Jack Le Brocq	Nissan Altima	2:06.7146	1.3778
18	MEGA Racing	Garry Jacobson	Ford Falcon FG/X	2:06.7875	1.4507
19	Preston Hire Racing	Karl Reindler	Holden Commodore VF	2:06.8345	1.4977
20	Plus Fitness Racing	Taz Douglas	Holden Commodore VF	2:06.8726	1.5358
21	Erebus Penrite Racing	Luke Youlden	Holden Commodore VF	2:06.9433	1.6065
22	Erebus GB Galvanizing Racing	Chris Pither	Holden Commodore VF	2:07.2616	1.9248
23	TEKNO Woodstock Racing	Jonathon Webb	Holden Commodore VF	2:07.3893	2.0525
24	Freightliner Racing	Andre Heimgartner	Holden Commodore VF	2:07.4051	2.0683
25	Wilson Security Racing GRM	Richard Muscat	Holden Commodore VF	2:07.6453	2.3085
26	Repair Management Aust Racing	Alex Davison	Holden Commodore VF	2:07.6938	2.3570