Gomersall opens 2026 season fastest, Buckley impresses
Ben Gomersall tops opening session of 2026 DUNLOP Super2 Series
All four Tickford Mustangs in the top seven
Rookie Alice Buckley leads the Holden brigade in fifth
Tickford Autosport recruit Ben Gomersall has topped the opening practice session of the 2026 DUNLOP Super2 Series, as the four-car squad picked up where they left off in 2025.
Gomersall and teammates Reuben Goodall, Nash Morris, and Campbell Logan all finished within the top seven in the final order, as the dominant squad of 2025 got off to a strong start.
Blanchard Racing Team's expanded two-car effort also impressed, with new recruit Lochie Dalton missing out on the top spot just just under two tenths of a second, with teammate Bailey Sweeny in fourth.
However, also impressing was rookie Alice Buckley, who finished as the top Holden in her family-run Commodore, just under four tenths of a second away from Gomersall's benchmark.
As has become the norm in the DUNLOP Series, the opening 10 minutes of Practice 1 was open to rookies only, with Buckley, Bayley Hall, Tommy Smith, and Hamish Fitzsimmons turning laps.
Fitzsimmons only turned an install lap before returning to the pits, with Hall leading the way when the remainder of the 20-car field rolled out, virtue of a 1:32.7683s.
The returnees immediately went about their work, with Hall's teammate Cody Burcher immediately going quickest on a 1:32.1628s.
Lochie Dalton would take the marker down to a 1:31.3421s, with BRT and Tickford Mustangs locking down the top four spots approaching the halfway mark of the 50-minute session.
Gomersall then put himself at the head of the Mustang foursome, edging ever closer to the 1:30s bracket on a 1:31.1641s, a benchmark that would stand for the remainder of the 50 minutes.
Burcher ended the session in eighth, with Matt Stone Racing rookie Smith popping up to ninth late in the session, and Ryan Tomsett rounding out the top 10 for Anderson Motorsport.
Some of the pre-season title favourites had quiet runs in the opening session of the year, with Brad Vaughan 11th for Brad Jones Racing, and Zak Best 13th for Anderson.
Practice 2, a 40-minute session, commences at 6:25pm local time.
