Dontas fastest in SuperUtes Practice 1

Craig Dontas has set the pace in a wet opening to Round 6 of the ECB SuperUtes Series at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

Ryal Harris was on top until well after the chequered flag, when Dontas laid down a 3:04.3385s in the #87 Sieders Racing Team Mitsubishi Triton.

Harris had started off with a 3:07.1930s on his first flyer, with the track wet and light rain still falling.

The ideal line dried slightly during the 20-minute session as Harris got down to a 3:05.4255s in the #58 Peters Motorsport Mazda BT-50.

Series leader Craig Woods improved with the clock at zero to briefly sit second in the #64 Western Sydney Motorsport Toyota Hilux before he was bumped by Dontas.

The top three were covered by 1.3099s while Mick Sieders ended up fourth in the #45 SRT Triton.

The returning V8 Utes Series winners in the field, Kim Jane (#1 Steve Wilson Racing Isuzu D-Max) and David Sieders (#34 Ranger Racing Ford Ranger), ended up eight and 10th respectively.

The latter was half a second faster than team-mate Cristopher Formosa in the original #49 Ranger.

Mick Sieders’ run into the escape road at Murray’s Corner was the most notable incident despite the tricky conditions.

SuperUtes Practice 2 starts at 1435 local time/AEST.

Results: Practice 1

Pos	Num	Team/Sponsor	Driver	Car	Fastest lap	Split
1	87	Team Mitsubishi Triton	Craig Dontas	Mitsubishi Triton	3:04.3385
2	58	EFS 4×4 Racing	Ryal Harris	Mazda BT50	3:05.4255	0:01.0870
3	64	Western Sydney Motorsport	Craig Woods	Toyota Hilux	3:05.6484	0:01.3099
4	45	Total Tools/Team Mitsubishi	Michael Sieders	Mitsubishi Triton	3:09.0613	0:04.7228
5	8	Car City	Ben Walsh	Toyota Hilux	3:09.3867	0:05.0482
6	95	Bushranger Racing	Aaron Cameron	Mazda BT50	3:10.8775	0:06.5390
7	99	Kubota Tractors Australia	Matthew MacKelden	Toyota Hilux	3:12.5139	0:08.1754
8	1	WIL-TOW	Kim Jane	Isuzu D-MAX	3:12.6346	0:08.2961
9	22	SP Tools	Tom Alexander	Holden Colorado	3:12.9421	0:08.6036
10	34	Allgate Auto Doors	David Sieders	Ford Ranger	3:16.9465	0:12.6080
11	49	Allgate Auto Doors	Christopher Formosa	Ford Ranger	3:17.4598	0:13.1213
12	18	AC Delco Racing	Tomas Gasperak	Holden Colorado	3:17.9668	0:13.6283
13	52	Western Sydney Motorsport	Charlotte Poynting	Toyota Hilux	3:23.0766	0:18.7381