Chaz Mostert tops final practice at The Bend
Limits pushed in final qualifying simulations with several off-track excursions
All three manufacturers inside top three
Chaz Mostert has topped the fifth and final practice session at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend, in a session that has left the form guide wide open ahead of Boost Mobile Qualifying.
The reigning champion set a 1:16.5883s in the #1 Mobil 1 Optus Toyota, just a tenth down on the fastest time of the weekend set by Jayden Ojeda yesterday, with all three manufacturers represented in the top three.
Drivers were pushing the limits in the final minutes in final qualifying simulations, with several off track excursions dragging dust on to the circuit, a stark departure from an opening stanza that saw a focus on pit procedures.
For the first time all weekend, there was a hot pit lane, teams given their first chance to practice pit stops ahead of the 500km enduro on Sunday, and drivers given their first chance to practice a live driver change.
That saw cars coming and going from pit lane throughout the 40 minutes, with Walkinshaw TWG Racing effecting an early brake change on the Ryan Wood/Jaxon Evans Supra, albeit after a little radio hiccup for Wood on departure, one of a number of small hiccups through the first 15 minutes of pit stops
Team 18 were still chasing nagging issues with the Anton De Pasquale/Lee Holdsworth Camaro, which was brought into the garage with a 'ticking noise' from the engine, and also requiring a brake bleed with an inconsistent brake feel.
Thomas Randle went to the top early on a 1:17.3582s, which was bumped off by an impressive 1:16.8528s from rookie Jackson Walls, with Wood launching to second, though some two tenths off the #11 Ford.
At the halfway mark of the session, both Cam Waters and Broc Feeney popped themselves up into the top four, the first time the #88 had been seen towards the pointy end all weekend, whilst Chaz Mostert complained about traffic as he tried to put together a lap, moving to fifth.
Waters was on course to potentially top Walls, though was spooked by the slow car of Craig Lowndes at Turn 11, and bailed into pit lane having struggled to pull the car up for the tight right hander.
As the session progressed, more and more dust was being dragged onto the high-speed sweeper at Turn 5, with several drivers having wild moments on corner exit after dropping wheels off the exit kerb.
With 12 minutes remaining, Triple Eight threw a set of green tyres at Will Brown's #888 Ford, which popped up into the top 10, whilst James Golding also did an early qualifying simulation to pop up into seventh.
Happy hour came with three and a half minutes to go, as the vast majority of the field rolled out on green tyres with their last track running before qualifying.
Matt Payne briefly went fastest on a 1:16.6211s, before Mostert went just 0.0328s faster to enter qualifying as the one to beat. Jack Le Brocq went third to put all three manufacturers inside the top three.
Both Red Bull Ampol Racing Fords breached track limits on their fast laps, Broc Feeney ending the session ninth, and Will Brown back in 17th.
Brodie Kostecki, meanwhile, ended the session in 26th and last, though the defending Bend 500 winner wasn't too concerned post-session, having spent most of the 40 minutes focussing on perfecting a race set up.
Tickford duo Waters and Randle were fourth and fifth, ahead of the impressive Walls, with Kai Allen, Wood, Feeney, and Zach Bates rounding out the top 10.
All 26 cars will return to the track for Boost Mobile Qualifying at 2:45pm local time/3:15pm AEST.
