PremiAir Racing doing a practice double, a wildcard rookie pacing practice, and two hot favourites down in 20th and 23rd.
Was that the Friday you expected? Nope, me neither.
It was an odd opening day at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend, which will leave many teams chasing answers and data throughout the night.
Penrite Racing
Kai Allen and Matt Payne ended the day sixth and ninth. Tim Slade through Allen’s car over the Turn 7 kerb in the second session. The teams’ leaders worked on both cars throughout the day, and given the squad's form, don't be surprised if Penrite Fords are the ones to beat for pole.
Red Bull Ampol Racing
It was an odd day for Triple Eight. After a quiet first session, Scott Pye was warned over a pit exit infringement in Practice 2. Then, Broc Feeney was released into the path of Chaz Mostert in Practice 3. It was Feeney’s worst practice result of the year with 23rd. He lost 0.4s at Turn 9, but even if he got that right, he still wouldn’t have broken into the top 10.
Tickford Racing
Tickford CEO Simon Brookhouse told media on Thursday that his team was “quite confident” heading into the weekend. The Cam Waters/Mark Winterbottom car was only 20th in Practice 3, adding a curveball to that script. The Waters car had the biggest fall over the day. The wildcard car of Ben Gomersal/Campbell Logan logged the most laps of the day with 49.
Walkinshaw TWG Racing
The Ryan Wood/Jaxon Evans car had a solid day, and was third in Practice 3. The sister car was loose all day, with Fabian Coulthard bowling a wide at Turn 12. Chaz Mostert, meanwhile, had the aforementioned close call with Broc Feeney. The Wood/Evans car was one of two to be in the top 10 in all three sessions.
Team 18
It was a heck of a day for Team 18, which has the Supercars broadcast in its garage for the weekend. Bayley Hall topped the co-drivers session. The biggest gain over the day was the David Reynolds/Courtney car, which moved from 20th to fifth. In Practice 3, Anton De Pasquale was on the pace, but dealt with an exhaust issue, radioing to his team: “There’s definitely something funky going on, like motor or exhaust, like when I crack the throttle, it sounds like a tractor… it sounds terrible.”
Shell V-Power Racing Team
The Brodie Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood was one of two cars to be in the top 10 for all three sessions. It was an ominous start, with Kostecki chasing five consecutive wins at The Bend. Rylan Gray was 13th, 0.3s behind his champion teammate.
Brad Jones Racing
The team’s three Toyotas were 19th, 24th and 26th in Practice 3. Andre Heimgartner admitted he’s “not really sure where we sit yet,” while Cameron Hill — who had an engine issue at the end of the morning’s brake bedding session — admitted he “really struggled with the car.” Heimgartner also ran off at Turn 8 in Practice 3.
Matt Stone Racing
Zach Bates outpaced Jack Le Brocq, with the two Camaros finishing the day in 12th and 17th. Le Brocq was proud of his team for the rebuild of his car, which was damaged in a brake failure-induced crash for Harri Jones at the Ipswich test.
Blanchard Racing Team
James Golding was last for the balance of Practice 3, and ended up 21st. The Aaron Cameron car was 25th. Team Manager Kate Harrington told media her team didn’t want to compromise the Cameron car too much amid the Ford squad’s mission to get Golding into the Finals.
PremiAir Racing
It was a banner day for Jayden Ojeda, who was fastest in Practice 1 and Practice 3. Ojeda has topped four practice sessions this year, the most of anyone. The Declan Fraser car was nearly 0.6s off the pace, however.
Erebus Motorsport
Jobe Stewart logged the track limits strikes in Practice 1, while the sister Cooper Murray car didn’t record a single strike. Murray and Stewart finished up 11th and 15th.
Objective Racing
The Jackson Walls/Jack Perkins car logged the fewest laps of the day, with 35. Team Principal Andrew Jones was effusive to the media on Thursday, and insisted a podium is on the horizon for Walls.
