Feeney beats Kostecki in final Bathurst practice
Feeney beats Kostecki by 0.2s in final Bathurst practice
Seven Shootout runners in top 10 in practice results
Teams chasing vital race data, completing pit stop practice
Broc Feeney has set the pace in final practice at the Repco Bathurst 1000 ahead of Saturday’s ARMOR ALL Top Ten Shootout.
Feeney, the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 winner with Jamie Whincup, paced the 60-minute session with a 2:05.5872s.
The #88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro driver was 0.2418s quicker than provisional pole-sitter Brodie Kostecki, who clocked a 2:05.8290s.
Feeney and Kostecki were the only two drivers in the 2:05s as teams continued to chase data ahead of Sunday’s 161-lap Repco Bathurst 1000.
Will Brown, who will start 17th with Jack Perkins, placed his repaired #9 Coca-Cola Camaro in third ahead of Cam Waters (#6 Monster Energy Mustang).
It was a strong recovery by the #9 crew, given Perkins encountered handling issues during Saturday morning’s practice session.
Of the 10 cars that will compete in Saturday's Shootout, seven featured in the top 10 in Practice 6. The three others were just outside the 10 in 11th, 13th and 14th.
Feeney opened proceedings with a 2:05.9842s, before Kostecki responded with a 2:05.8290s. Before the midway point, Feeney improved the benchmark to a 2:05.5872s, which remained the benchmark for the remainder of the session.
Kostecki’s time was 1.1646s slower than his best in Friday qualifying.
Despite the looming presence of the Shootout, teams opted to chase race data and complete more pit stops practice, with outright pace going out the window.
That didn't stop a number of drivers and teams finding trouble; notably, Tony D'Alberto sent Anton De Pasquale's #11 Shell V-Power Ford through the grass at The Chase.
James Golding, who qualified second on Friday, was personal-best to the second sector when he made a mistake at The Chase. The Golding/Dylan O'Keeffe #31 Nulon Camaro ended up seventh.
Thomas Randle, who qualified 11th on Friday, also ran through the shortcut area across Skyline into the Esses.
The Randle/Garry Jacobson #55 Castrol Mustang ended up 17th, with De Pasquale/D'Alberto sixth.
Penrite Racing, meanwhile, struggled to remove a rotor from the #26 Penrite Mustang during a brake change. Such was the drama, that the car was pushed into the garage.
The ARMOR ALL Top Ten Shootout will commence at 5:05pm AEDT, which will finalise the grid for Sunday’s Race 24.
