Jamie Whincup topped the timesheets in practice for the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide on Friday.
The Team Vodafone driver, fresh from a clean sweep of race victories in the V8 Supercar Championship’s opening rounds in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, set a best time of 1:21.3729 in his Holden Commodore VE, just a couple of tenths quicker than Shane van Gisbergen’s SP Tools Racing Ford Falcon.
However, Whincup admitted that Friday’s practice sessions had been hard going at the notoriously challenging street circuit.
“That was a really tough session,” the reigning champion said. “We slowly progressed with the car but it is so hectic around this circuit which makes it hard to get a clean lap.
“I was also sin-binned for two minutes for an infringement at Turn 2 but hey, the rules are the rules and I will make sure I don’t make the same mistake again.”
Paul Dumbrell was a fine third in the Bottle-O Racing Team Falcon after a quick lap on new tyres with Jason Richard’s Team BOC Commodore fourth and Whincup’s Team Vodafone team-mate, Craig Lowndes, in fifth.
Less than a second covered the top 13 cars, meaning the battle to make it through to top 10 qualifying tomorrow is sure to be fierce.
Combined practice times
1 Jamie Whincup, Team Vodafone, Holden Commodore VE, 1:21.3729
2 Shane van Gisbergen, SP Tools Racing, Ford FG Falcon, 1:21.5271
3 Paul Dumbrell, The Bottle-O Racing Team, Ford FG Falcon, 1:21.7511
4 Jason Richards, Team BOC, Holden Commodore VE, 1:21.8410
5 Craig Lowndes, Team Vodafone, Holden Commodore VE, 1:21.8708
6 Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team, Holden Commodore VE, 1:21.9576
7 Fabian Coulthard, Bundaberg Red Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:21.9641
8 Steven Richards, Ford Performance Racing, Ford FG Falcon, 1:22.1188
9 Tony D'Alberto, Centaur Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:22.1237
10 Tim Slade, Wilson Security Racing, Ford FG Falcon, 1:22.1515
11 Jonathon Webb, Dick Johnson Racing, Ford FG Falcon, 1:22.2493
12 Alex Davison, Irwin Racing, Ford FG Falcon, 1:22.2944
13 Steven Johnson, Jim Beam Racing, Ford FG Falcon, 1:22.3418
14 Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing, Ford FG Falcon, 1:22.3916
15 Todd Kelly, Jack Daniel’s Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:22.4551
16 Lee Holdsworth, Fujitsu Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:22.4576
17 Rick Kelly, Jack Daniel’s Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:22.4610
18 Michael Caruso, Fujitsu Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:22.4782
19 Jason Bright, Trading Post Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:22.5589
20 James Courtney, Jim Beam Racing, Ford FG Falcon, 1:22.5830
21 Will Davison, Toll Holden Racing Team, Holden Commodore VE, 1:22.6640
22 Karl Reindler, Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:22.7260
23 Dean Fiore, Triple F Racing, Ford FG Falcon, 1:22.7657
24 Russell Ingall, Supercheap Auto Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:22.7983
25 Jason Bargwanna, Rock Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:22.8994
26 Greg Murphy, Castrol Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:23.2075
27 Andrew Thompson, Budaberg Red Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:23.4533
28 Tony Ricciardello, Kelly Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:23.8941
29 Daniel Gaunt, Gulf Western Oil Racing, Holden Commodore VE, 1:23.9798
Watch Clipsal 500 highlights on Motors TV (Sky Channel 413, Virgin Media 545) on Sunday 21 March at 5.20pm (GMT).
Andy Wilkinson
International
