Rain causes chaos in Bend 500 Warm Up
Several drivers had offs as heavens opened for first wet running of weekend
James Golding/Richie Stanaway fastest
The rains have arrived at The Bend Motorsport Park, throwing a spanner in the works for final preparations for the AirTouch 500 at The Bend.
After Friday and Saturday were run in perfect conditions, the threat of rain through the 500km enduro on Sunday afternoon threatened to add a whole new dynamic to the race.
There was a smaller chance of the rain arriving through the morning Warm Up, and the session was declared wet as pit exit opened with rain in the vicinity of the circuit.
The rains duly arrived five minutes into the session, and there was chaos as several cars fired off at Turn 1 on slick tyres, Broc Feeney, Tim Slade, James Courtney, and Tony D'Alberto all running off with big moments.
Feeney then had an even more wild off at Turn 11 as he tried to soldier on on dry tyres, whilst Brodie Kostecki all but went off at the same corner.
The rain eased slightly for a few moments, before returning in earnest and forcing the hand of the whole field to run wet tyres, though Turns 1 and 11 at either end of the circuit continued to prove challenging, though there were no red flag interruptions.
The wet weather wreaked havoc in pit lane as well, with drivers scrambling to keep their boots dry before driver changes, whilst the wet concrete also proved a challenge to pull up on, though fortunately there were no major incidents.
Teams also continued to struggle with brake changes, which could emerge as a big factor across the 500km should any teams elect to make a brake change.
The Blanchard Racing Team Fords of James Golding/Richie Stanaway and Aaron Cameron/Zak Best leading the way before the rains arrived, however times were not representative of the weekend's previous running.
Ryan Wood/Jaxon Evans were third, despite a late off for Wood at Turn 1, ahead of Matt Payne/Will Davison, with Zach Bates/Aaron Seton rounding out the top five.
The pole sitting Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood Ford finished 19th in the session, and completed the fewest laps of any combination with just six.
Hazelwood jumped in for some wet laps late in the session, with some question still lingering over his shoulder after his Trans Am incident on Saturday.
The Ryco Enduro Cup opener will commence at 1:45pm local time/2:15pm AEST.
