DAVID Russell underlined Erebus Motorsport’s strong early form at the Repco Bathurst 1000 by topping a Practice 2 session for co-drivers that completed the Thursday running.
A 2:05.6826s set halfway through the session aboard Brodie Kostecki’s Camaro proved the fastest of the day, giving Erebus a Thursday sweep following Will Brown’s Practice 1 effort.
Russell already had his eye in prior to the 60-minute hitout, having tackled half of a Practice 1 session in which Kostecki had clocked the third-quickest time.
“The car rolled out really good,” reflected Russell of how the day began.
“Brodie said to George on the radio ‘good job mate, you’ve rolled out nice’. The car has been good to drive and clearly it’s got reasonable pace.”
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In a repeat of the first session, it was a Grove Racing Mustang that proved Erebus’ closest rival.
This time it was Garth Tander in P2 aboard David Reynolds’ #26 Ford. Tander had a wild moment at Skyline at the start of a final run that ultimately yielded a 2:06.3351s best.
Richie Stanaway completed the top three in Shane van Gisbergen’s Triple Eight Camaro, having set his 2:06.3842s best on his first flying lap.
Among late improvers was Dick Johnson Racing wildcard Kai Allen, who rocketed to fourth fastest in the Mustang he shares with Simona De Silvestro.
Fellow wildcard Zane Goddard, Jamie Whincup (#88 Camaro), DJR pair Alex Davison and Tony D’Alberto, Jack Perkins (#9 Camaro) and Lee Holdsworth (#25 Mustang) completed the 10.
Grove Racing’s French import Kevin Estre was 19th fastest, just under two seconds adrift of Russell’s blistering pace.
The session included the first crash and red flag among the Supercars field; Dean Fiore crunching the Murray’s Corner fence at the 10-minute mark.
That triggered a 15-minute red flag stoppage and, despite optimism from Fiore, damage to the #14 Middy’s Camaro kept it from the remainder of the session.
Two more practice sessions will take place on Friday ahead of qualifying.
RESULTS: Supercars Practice 2, Repco Bathurst 1000
| Pos | No. | Driver/s | Team | Car | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99 | David Russell | Erebus | Chevrolet | 2m05.6826s |
| 2 | 26 | Garth Tander | Grove | Ford | +0.6525s |
| 3 | 97 | Richie Stanaway | Triple Eight | Chevrolet | +0.7016s |
| 4 | 98 | Kai Allen | DJR | Ford | +0.9326s |
| 5 | 888 | Zane Goddard | Triple Eight | Chevrolet | +1.0824s |
| 6 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight | Chevrolet | +1.0997s |
| 7 | 17 | Alex Davison | DJR | Ford | +1.1002s |
| 8 | 11 | Tony D’Alberto | DJR | Ford | +1.1171s |
| 9 | 9 | Jack Perkins | Erebus | Chevrolet | +1.1515s |
| 10 | 25 | Lee Holdsworth | WAU | Ford | +1.3600s |
| 11 | 6 | James Moffat | Tickford | Ford | +1.5023s |
| 12 | 34 | Jayden Ojeda | MSR | Chevrolet | +1.5024s |
| 13 | 18 | Michael Caruso | Team 18 | Chevrolet | +1.5431s |
| 14 | 2 | Fabian Coulthard | WAU | Ford | +1.5449s |
| 15 | 55 | Garry Jacobson | Tickford | Ford | +1.6880s |
| 16 | 31 | Dylan O’Keeffe | PremiAir | Chevrolet | +1.7093s |
| 17 | 5 | Zak Best | Tickford | Ford | +1.7197s |
| 18 | 56 | Tyler Everingham | Tickford | Ford | +1.7980s |
| 19 | 19 | Kevin Estre | Grove | Ford | +1.8491s |
| 20 | 20 | Warren Luff | Team 18 | Chevrolet | +1.9255s |
| 21 | 7 | Jake Kostecki | BRT | Ford | +1.9540s |
| 22 | 4 | Jaxon Evans | BJR | Chevrolet | +2.0478s |
| 23 | 96 | Jordan Boys | BJR | Chevrolet | +2.0868s |
| 24 | 8 | Dale Wood | BJR | Chevrolet | +2.0899s |
| 25 | 23 | Jonathon Webb | PremiAir | Chevrolet | +2.2767s |
| 26 | 3 | Tim Blanchard | BRT | Ford | +2.4086s |
| 27 | 35 | Jaylyn Robotham | MSR | Chevrolet | +3.0124s |
| 28 | 14 | Dean Fiore | BJR | Chevrolet | +4.9274s |
