WILL Brown set the pace in an opening practice at the Repco Bathurst 1000 in which the top Chevrolet and top Ford were split by just 0.0071s.
The opening 60-minute session started with great intrigue over what times the Gen3 cars would produce around the Mountain, and how the two marques would compare.
Brodie Kostecki set the early pace thanks to an impressive 2:06.0720s on just his second flying lap of the weekend.
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The championship leader was 0.2721s clear of teammate Brown when he pitted the #99 Camaro and handed over to co-driver David Russell at the halfway mark.
Brown lowered the benchmark to 2:05.9653s shortly afterwards, staying in the #9 Camaro for the duration of the session.
Grove Racing’s Matt Payne broke the Erebus duopoly with nine minutes to go, falling just 0.0071s shy of Brown.
Kostecki’s early time proved good enough to hold onto third ahead of Chaz Mostert, who jumped 10 positions to fourth with the chequered flag flying.
David Reynolds, Scott Pye and Broc Feeney also improved late to fill fifth through seventh ahead of Anton De Pasquale, who set his time early before handing over to Tony D’Alberto.
Andre Heimgartner and Craig Lowndes completed a top 10 filled by six Camaros and four Mustangs.
The session ran green for its duration, despite drivers facing the task of adapting to the cars on the challenging circuit.
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Those to endure minor off-track excursions included wildcard Aaron Love (off twice at The Chase) and James Moffat, who toured the escape road at Hell Corner aboard Waters’ Ford.
The Gen3 cars proved not too much slower than the Gen2 cars they have replaced, with Brown’s session-topping effort 1.5962s slower than Will Davison’s benchmark time in the same session last year.
A second practice session, for co-drivers only, will take place from 4:50pm local time.
RESULTS: Supercars Practice 1, Repco Bathurst 1000
| Pos | No. | Driver/s | Team | Car | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Will Brown | Erebus | Chevrolet | 2m05.9653s |
| 2 | 19 | Matthew Payne / Kevin Estre | Grove | Ford | +0.0071s |
| 3 | 99 | Brodie Kostecki / David Russell | Erebus | Chevrolet | +0.1067s |
| 4 | 25 | Chaz Mostert | WAU | Ford | +0.3422s |
| 5 | 26 | David Reynolds | Grove | Ford | +0.5032s |
| 6 | 20 | Scott Pye / Warren Luff | Team 18 | Chevrolet | +0.5647s |
| 7 | 88 | Broc Feeney | Triple Eight | Chevrolet | +0.6248s |
| 8 | 11 | Anton De Pasquale / Tony D’Alberto | DJR | Ford | +0.8007s |
| 9 | 8 | Andre Heimgartner | BJR | Chevrolet | +0.8340s |
| 10 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight | Chevrolet | +0.8887s |
| 11 | 55 | Thomas Randle | Tickford | Ford | +1.0296s |
| 12 | 5 | James Courtney | Tickford | Ford | +1.0311s |
| 13 | 6 | Cam Waters / James Moffat | Tickford | Ford | +1.0358s |
| 14 | 17 | Will Davison | DJR | Ford | +1.2450s |
| 15 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen / Richie Stanaway | Triple Eight | Chevrolet | +1.4500s |
| 16 | 35 | Cameron Hill | MSR | Chevrolet | +1.4592s |
| 17 | 31 | James Golding / Dylan O’Keeffe | PremiAir | Chevrolet | +1.6631s |
| 18 | 18 | Mark Winterbottom | Team 18 | Chevrolet | +1.6673s |
| 19 | 3 | Todd Hazelwood | BRT | Ford | +1.7622s |
| 20 | 2 | Nick Percat | WAU | Ford | +1.9033s |
| 21 | 34 | Jack Le Brocq / Jayden Ojeda | MSR | Chevrolet | +1.9127s |
| 22 | 7 | Aaron Love | BRT | Ford | +2.0228s |
| 23 | 96 | Macauley Jones / Jordan Boys | BJR | Chevrolet | +2.1445s |
| 24 | 14 | Bryce Fullwood | BJR | Chevrolet | +2.2219s |
| 25 | 56 | Declan Fraser | Tickford | Ford | +2.2722s |
| 26 | 23 | Tim Slade / Jonathon Webb | PremiAir | Chevrolet | +2.6465s |
| 27 | 4 | Jack Smith | BJR | Chevrolet | +3.1006s |
| 28 | 98 | Simona De Silvestro | DJR | Ford | +3.7296s |
