Will Davison came within hundredths of a second of the practice lap record with a 1min09.2685 in his Pepsi Max Ford Falcon in Practice Three of the Coates Hire Ipswich 360.
Craig Lowndes set the lap record at Queensland Raceway last year – a 1min09.2218 – on his way to a clean sweep of the weekend.
Davison was the winner of Race 20 at the last event in Townsville and has recorded a win at Queensland Raceway in 2009 – though in the lead up to this weekend’s event, Davison was not reflecting on his inconsistent history at the circuit.
He did, however, say he wanted to claim an ARMOR ALL Pole Position after recording eight last year – including one at Queensland Raceway. This year he is yet to start from the first position on the grid.
Davison was followed home in Practice Three by Jamie Whincup, Tim Slade, Craig Lowndes and Lee Holdsworth.
The Erebus Motorsport V8 team had another strong run in practice with Maro Engel also recording a top 10 time, finishing the session seventh. Yesterday the three Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs made up positions two to four in practice, prompting CEO Ryan Maddison to say he was "ecstatic" with the result.
Davison’s teammate Mark Winterbottom finished the session 15th, James Moffat was the best of the Nissans in 16th, and after winning the last Championship race Garth Tander finished 23rd.
Click here for full results from Practice Three.
Qualifying for today’s 60/60 Super Sprint race begins at 1.30pm AEST.