Brown beats Payne by 0.007s in Practice 1

Will Brown has pipped Matt Payne to Practice 1 honours as Repco Bathurst 1000 action got underway at Mount Panorama.

Brown turned in a 2:05.9653s aboard his #9 Coca-Cola Chevrolet Camaro with 20 minutes remaining to set the early pace in Bathurst.

The Queenslander edged Penrite Racing Ford driver Payne to top spot, albeit by just 0.0071s as the Kiwi turned up the wick in the closing minutes.

All told, the first competitive session of the Gen3 era at Mount Panorama ended with two Chevrolets and three Fords in the top five, with Brown’s teammate Brodie Kostecki third.

Kostecki set the early pace as cars rolled out, and handed the over the #99 Coca-Cola Camaro to co-driver David Russell atop the time sheets with a 2:06.0720s.

The championship leader’s time proved the benchmark before his teammate went fastest with 20 minutes to go, before Payne dropped the #99 to third in the closing minutes.

The session began in cool conditions and in the wake of news of an unchanged aerodynamic change for the Mustang package.

Payne managed to split the Coca-Cola Camaros, with Chaz Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang) and David Reynolds (#26 Penrite Mustang) rounding out the top five.

Erebus was quick right off the bat, with Brown setting a 2:07.6653s and Kostecki on their first flyers. Next time through, Kostecki went a second up on the field with 2:06.0720s, and backed it up with a 2:06.1722s.

Shell V-Power Racing Team driver Anton De Pasquale moved to second on a 2:06.9045s in the #11 Mustang, before Brown returned to second with a 2:06.3441s.

With 10 minutes remaining, Payne moved the #19 Penrite Ford into third position with a 2:06.1233s, before moving to second with a 2:05.9724s.

As the chequered flag unfurled, Mostert jumped from 14th to fourth with a 2:06.2075s, with 2017 Great Race winner Reynolds fifth with a 2:06.4685s.

Scott Pye (#20 Toyota Forklifts Camaro) ended up sixth ahead of Broc Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro), who won last month’s Penrite Oil Sandown 500 with Jamie Whincup.

De Pasquale ended up eighth ahead of Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro) and Craig Lowndes (#888 Supercheap Auto Camaro).

James Moffat, sharing the #6 Monster Energy Mustang with Cam Waters, ended the session 13th on the time sheets after a late excursion into Murray’s Corner.

Shane van Gisbergen had a similar off in the #97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro, with the defending Great Race winner 15th.

The session ran green in its entirety, with Blanchard Racing Team wildcard Aaron Love encountering two offs at The Chase in the #7 Petronas Mustang.

Supercars will return to the track for Practice 2, reserved for Additional Drivers only, at 4:50pm AEDT.