Van Gisbergen tops Practice 2, Courtney crashes

Shane van Gisbergen has topped Practice 2 at the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown, which was punctuated by a James Courtney crash.

Series leader van Gisbergen set his benchmark time 10 minutes into the 30-minute session.

Andre Heimgartner ended the hit-out just 0.04s behind his countryman, with Anton De Pasquale third.

Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom were also within 0.18s of van Gisbergen.

The session’s flashpoint came at the midway mark, with Courtney running long into the Turn 10 barriers.

Courtney’s car bounced out of the barriers, and he managed to the return the car to the lane.

The #5 Snowy River Caravans Mustang suffered cosmetic damage to the front of the car.

Courtney didn’t return to the track, and ended the session in 24th.

“We put new tyres on and had a go, and ended up pretty fast,” van Gisbergen said.

“I didn’t improve; we de-tuned it a little bit, and I drove bad.

“We were on old tyres in Practice 1, I’m not sure about the track [conditions]."

Brodie Kostecki and Heimgartner led the early running in the opening minutes.

The session was held in hotter afternoon conditions, but the times dropped dramatically.

Cam Waters lowered the benchmark to a 1:05.743s, before van Gisbergen and Mark Winterbottom went faster again.

Both Shell V-Power Fords made their way into the top four, with Will Davison fourth.

Van Gisbergen's 1:05.420s proved nearly 0.5s faster than Jamie Whincup's quicker than last year's corresponding session.

Tickford's dramas weren't reserved to Courtney; wildcard Zak Best suffered a spin at Turn 5 early on.

Courtney was 18th on the time sheets at the time of his accident.

All told, the top 25 runners were covered by 0.76s.

Cars will return to the track on Saturday for ARMOR ALL Qualifying at 11:45am local time.

Purchase your Merlin Darwin Triple Crown tickets now.