Eggleston dominant as Crick tops opening Perth practice

Cameron Crick topped the timesheets in the opening practice session as Eggleston Motorsport sent an ominous message to the field as Round 2 of the Dunlop Series began in Perth.

The signs were clear from the outset that the four Eggleston Commodores were dialled in, as Crick set a time of 55.7661s on just his second lap.

Crick went quicker again on his next lap, with his time of 55.6754s remaining the benchmark for the remainder of the session.

Crick also went three tenths faster than the 55.9109s Brad Vaughan set to top the opening Dunlop Series practice session in Perth last year.

Teammates Jordyn Sinni and Cooper Murray slotted in behind Crick to form an all-Eggleston top three in the early running, before points leader and reigning champion Kai Allen made it four Eggleston cars in the top four soon after.

Allen would wind up second on a 55.8241s ahead of an impressive Sinni who set a 55.8377s and banked the most laps of any Eggleston car with 25 laps.

The only non-Eggleston driver to break into the 55 second range was Zach Bates, who finished fourth for the session in his Walkinshaw Andretti United Commodore on a 55.8458s.

Murray rounded out the top five on a 55.9318s, with Jobe Stewart and Cameron McLeod the closest to breaking into the 55 second range, both on 56.0s.

Tickford’s Lochie Dalton was the best Mustang in eighth place, with Jarrod Hughes and Aaron Cameron rounding out the top 10.

The fastest Super3 runner was Thomas Maxwell on a 56.3736s in 12th outright, despite having a moment and skating through the gravel at turn seven, without the need for a red flag.

Maxwell’s MW Motorsport teammate and Super3 points leader Cody Burcher had a difficult session, being handed a three minute penalty for exceeding track limits on his way to 17th outright.

The Super3 field is bolstered by the return of Tony Auddino this weekend, who rounded out the Dunlop Series field 1.7 seconds off the pace of Crick, and just over a second off Maxwell.

The Dunlop Series takes to the track one more time today for Practice 2 at 1:25 AWST/3:25 AEST.