Kostecki fastest in opening Newcastle Super2 practice

Kurt Kostecki has finished just ahead of 2019 series winner Bryce Fullwood in Practice 1 for the final round of the Dunlop Super2 Series in Newcastle.

Kostecki’s best time in the #55 Triple Eight VF Commodore was a 1:12.8328s, while Fullwood set a 1:12.8744s with the chequered flag out in the #16 MW Motorsport Nissan Altima.

Fullwood went on his customary long first run and, with most of the rest of the field back in the pits, held top spot with a 1:13.4958s.

As he continued to circulate for 15 laps before returning to the lane, Kostecki went faster with a 1:13.1747s, and Jordan Boys (#49 Image Racing VF Commodore) soon slotted into second position at 0.1332s slower.

Will Brown then jumped to first position with a 1:13.1214s, immediately after which he scraped the #38 Eggleston Motorsport VF Commodore on the tyre wall as he exited the first corner.

A red flag was called for debris in the 25th minute, before Brown lowered the benchmark time further to a 1:12.9174s.

Thomas Randle (#5 Tickford FGX Falcon) and Boys closed in, before Kostecki moved himself from fourth to first with the 1:12.8328s in the final seven minutes of the 40-minute session.

Fullwood improved his time without improving on fifth position when he put in a 1:13.0446s after a sizeable slide off the final corner, before running long at the hairpin on a subsequent lap.

He was still fifth when he clocked the lap which moved him to 0.0416s off the leader on his final lap.

Brown therefore ended up third, ahead of Randle and Boys, with Adam Marjoram (#15 Image Racing VF Commodore) sixth despite an early electrical problem consigning him to nine laps only.

Rounding out the top 10 were Ash Walsh (#35 Matt Stone Racing VF Commodore), Jack Perkins (#54 Eggleston Motorsport VF Commodore), Tyler Everingham (#27 MW Motorsport Altima), and Jack Smith (#21 Brad Jones Racing VF Commodore).

Brenton Grove brought up the foot of the 15-car field having slapped the concrete wall exiting Zaara Street, 15 minutes in, and then parked the #10 Triple Eight VF Commodore in a run-off area.

Super2 Practice 2 at the Coates Hire Newcastle 500 starts this afternoon at 1400 local time/AEDT.

Results: Practice 1

Pos	Num	Team/Sponsor	Driver	Car	Fastest lap	Split
1	55	Arcoweld Racing	Kurt Kostecki	Holden Commodore VF	1:12.8328
2	16	Middy’s Electrical / MWM	Bryce Fullwood	Nissan Altima	1:12.8744	0:00.0416
3	38	Eggleston Motorsport	William Brown	Holden Commodore VF	1:12.9174	0:00.0846
4	5	Skye Sands	Thomas Randle	Ford Falcon FG/X	1:12.9644	0:00.1316
5	49	Image Racing	Jordan Boys	Holden Commodore VF	1:13.0351	0:00.2023
6	15	Image Racing	Adam Marjoram	Holden Commodore VF	1:13.2270	0:00.3942
7	35	Matt Stone Racing	Ashley Walsh	Holden Commodore VF	1:13.3666	0:00.5338
8	54	Eggleston Motorsport	Jack Perkins	Holden Commodore VF	1:13.4181	0:00.5853
9	27	R&J Batteries / MWM	Tyler Everingham	Nissan Altima	1:13.4441	0:00.6113
10	21	SCT Logistics	Jack Smith	Holden Commodore VF	1:13.5026	0:00.6698
11	18	Cavalier Homes Australia	Matthew Chahda	Ford Falcon FG/X	1:13.5029	0:00.6701
12	28	BGD Architects / MWM	Zane Goddard	Nissan Altima	1:13.8022	0:00.9694
13	44	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Dylan O’Keeffe	Holden Commodore VF	1:14.1016	0:01.2688
14	88	Eggleston Motorsport	Justin Ruggier	Holden Commodore VF	1:14.1480	0:01.3152
15	10	Grove Hire Racing	Brenton Grove	Holden Commodore VF	1:14.5722	0:01.7394