Jayden Ojeda tops tight opening Bend practice
Ojeda, Cam Waters, Thomas Randle covered by 0.0717s
Co-drivers get late laps ahead of exclusive session
Jayden Ojeda has sprung a late surprise to top the opening practice session of the AirTouch 500 at The Bend, in a session that was dominated by the Tickford Mustangs.
Ojeda, who will share the #31 PremiAir Camaro with veteran David Russell, was a feature of the top 10 throughout the first half-hour hit out, before rising to the top late on a 1:17.1422s in a tight opening session.
In what was an exploratory opening to the session, Cam Waters went to the top early on a 1:17.2207s, and Thomas Randle third behind Zach Bates, who had the benefit of a rookie test day at the venue a few weeks ago.
Both the #6 and the #55 Fords stayed towards the pointy end for the majority of the session, and were both within 0.0717s of Ojeda's late benchmark.
It was an awkward start to the weekend for Walkinshaw TWG Racing, with Ryan Wood nudging the rear of Chaz Mostert's Supra early in the session, though the damage was limited to little more than scuff marks.
Waters then had a wild moment of his own on his second run, bowling a wide through the high-speed sweeper at Turn 5 after picking up the dirt on the inside and having a wobble.
Cooper Murray lifted himself to second with 10 minutes remaining, and was one of five Chevrolets in the top 10 through the opening two thirds of the session after their pre-event parity adjustment.
Randle then pipped his teammate by 0.0068s to go to the top of the session, continuing his strong affinity with the venue where he claimed his first pole and podium in 2023.
However, Waters then yo-yo'd his way back to the top, the margin over the #55 ironically 0.0055s, having set a 1:17.2084s.
There were several drivers who were struggling with car set up on the unfamiliar West Circuit, with Mostert complaining about the behaviour of the rear of the #1 Toyota, whilst Matt Payne was also unhappy with the behaviour of his #19 Ford.
Turn 1 was also proving a trouble spot, Jobe Stewart and Macauley Jones having synchronised lock ups and off track excursions, whilst Broc Feeney also ran long earlier in the session.
In the final minutes of the session, a number of co-drivers got an early taste of the West Circuit ahead of their first exclusive session of the weekend.
Tickford looked set to hold down a 1-2 for the opening session of the weekend until Ojeda saved his best for his final lap, topping the session for PremiAir Racing.
The Ojeda/Russell Camaro led home the Waters/Mark Winterbottom and Randle/Reuben Goodall Mustangs, the top three covered by just 0.0717s.
Reigning Bend 500 winner Brodie Kostecki went fourth late on a 1:17.3346s in the Shell V-Power Ford he'll share with Todd Hazelwood, with the Murray/Lochie Dalton Erebus Chevrolet rounding out the top five.
Two further 30-minute practice sessions will round out Friday running at The Bend, with a co-driver only session at 1:45pm local time/2:15pm AEST, before the final session of the day at 3:40pm local/4:10pm AEST.
