Jamie Whincup and the Red Bull Holden Racing Team have combined to land the first blow on the streets of Newcastle, with the seven-time champion ousting Cameron Waters and teammate Shane van Gisbergen in a hotly-contested Practice 2.
Whincup launched to P1 late in the 30-minute session to set a session-best 1:10.3173s – but Waters’ #5 Monster Energy Mustang was just 0.0057s down the road, with van Gisbergen a further 0.0549s down.
The top eight were separated by a scant 0.1301s, with Practice 1 fast man Scott McLaughlin fourth in the session, just 0.0666s down on Whincup’s lap.
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McLaughlin slides in Practice
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David Reynolds – who brought out an early red flag due to an off – was fifth in the #9 Penrite Racing ZB Commodore, ahead of Mark Winterbottom (#18 IRWIN Racing ZB Commodore), James Courtney (#22 Walkinshaw Andretti United) and Fabian Coulthard (#12 Shell V-Power Racing Mustang).
Todd Hazelwood continued his strong Friday pace to drop the #35 SS Signs ZB Commodore into ninth, with Lee Holdsworth (#5 The Bottle-O Racing Mustang) rounding out the top 10.
The tight margins, although skewed somewhat by the changeable weather conditions, have set up the top two teams for a weekend-long battle for the teams’ championship.
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McLaughlin has already sealed the drivers’ title, but just 116 points separate Shell V-Power Racing and the Red Bull Holden squad, with 576 points on offer.
Whincup admitted there’s more in his car, but was happy to set the fastest time on his final lap.
“My car didn’t feel that flash then on good tyres, but it’s clearly quick,” said Whincup.
“I think our drive is okay, we’re just struggling with a bit of turn.
“We’ll work on getting them to turn through that change of direction a little bit faster.
“If we can do that, I think we’ll improve for tomorrow.”
Full results here.
