Reigning Repco Supercars Champion Will Brown set the pace in a busy and dramatic Practice 3 at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend on Friday afternoon.
In the final practice session of the opening day of the Ryco Enduro Cup season, Brown out-paced his Red Bull Ampol Racing teammate and current Championship leader Broc Feeney by 0.321s after 30 frantic minutes, setting a rapid 1:48.9957s lap—the fastest-ever Gen3 lap at the circuit.
Brown’s quick time came after an eventful session. He was involved in an initial skirmish with Penrite Racing’s Kai Allen and was then baulked in the pit lane by the Bryce Fullwood/Brad Vaughan Camaro.
He even received a warning from the stewards for crossing the blend line at pit exit.
Brown, Feeney, Thomas Randle, Cam Waters, and Anton De Pasquale all managed to beat the previous Gen3 lap record at The Bend, which was set by Brodie Kostecki in 2023.
Kostecki, however, had a difficult session and finished 26th after his Shell V-Power Ford experienced a suspected steering rack issue.
The session kicked off with Andre Heimgartner momentarily topping the timesheets before a Safety Car procedure trial.
After the restart, De Pasquale jumped ahead, and Allen got tangled up with the two Triple Eight drivers.
Replays showed Allen picking off Feeney and Brown through Turn 16, with Brown immediately fighting back through the final corner.
As the session progressed, Tickford wildcard Lochie Dalton briefly took the top spot, followed by quick laps from Jack Le Brocq, Will Davison, and De Pasquale.
Nick Percat then lowered the benchmark to 1:50.0118s before De Pasquale smashed the existing practice/qualifying record.
Team 18’s David Reynolds/Lee Holdsworth entry, however, was sidelined with electrical problems after stalling in pit lane.
In the final five minutes, Payne moved into second with a 1:49.6047s, before Brown laid down his record-breaking 1:48.9957s lap.
It capped an eventful Friday at The Bend where rookie Aaron Cameron topped the timesheets oin opening practice, Supercars’ Hall of Fame Inductee, the great Jamie Whincup was quickest in the co-driver only Practice 2 – and Brown topped P3.
Co-drivers will hit the track on Saturday for Practice 4 at 9:50 am local time, followed by Practice 5 at 12:00 pm.
All drivers will then compete in Boost Mobile Qualifying at 3:05 pm, which will set the grid for the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 4:50pm.
Comments