Cam Waters has stolen Friday honours at the last gasp at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, setting the fastest time of the day in Practice 2.
Waters flew to a 1:08.5735 on his final lap of the day, besting Will Brown’s practice/qualifying lap record he set this morning by seven tenths of a second.
However, whilst Waters led a trio of Ford’s Finals aspirants at the top of the field, there were dramas for another of Ford’s leading hopes, as Brodie Kostecki found the wall at Turn 12.
Team 18 managed to change Anton De Pasquale’s gearbox in the gap between sessions, with the #18 Cub Cadet Camaro rolling out 90 seconds later than the remaining 23 cars.
Kostecki immediately issued a big statement to the field, laying down a 1:08.7816 on the Dunlop Super Soft tyre, which will be used for tomorrow’s running.
Richie Stanaway and David Reynolds both clobbered the tyre wall at Turn 2 early in the session, whilst Aaron Cameron thumped the concrete at the exit of Turn 11, with Will Brown and Chaz Mostert also touching the same wall.
Whilst Brown and Mostert were pushing the limits, they were also quick, as they both went under the practice/qualifying lap record set by the former earlier today to go second and third.
Ryan Wood also had a moment when he locked up and ran long down the escape road at Turn 11, however he then promptly set the fastest first sector before picking up a kerb strike at the Beach Chicane, with the #2 Mustang launching well into the air.
Matt Payne then bumped Kostecki out of first on a 1:08.7509, whilst Penrite Racing teammate Kai Allen went to fourth.
The red flags then flew just past the halfway mark of the session, when Bryce Fullwood got crossed up on the exit of the Beach Chicane at Turn 10, and smacked into both the tyre wall and the concrete.
Fullwood climbed out of the #14 Camaro uninjured, with damage on both the right front and right rear corners.
Upon the resumption, Kostecki set the fastest first sector of all, however it all went awry when he missed the apex at Turn 12, and buried the #38 Mustang into the tyres, bringing out the second red flag of the session in quick time.
The 2023 champion was able to drive back to pit lane after he was dragged out of the wall, however there was considerable bodywork damage to the right front corner of his car.
That set up a final six minute run to the flag, with Broc Feeney going to third with his first lap on a 1:08.8521. Thomas Randle briefly went fourth before Chaz Mostert flew to the top on a 1:08.7358.
Mostert improved even further to a 1:08.7297, with Payne and Kostecki behind, the Ford trio covered by just 0.051s.
De Pasquale rebounded strongly to go to fourth after his early difficulties, before Wood flew to the top on a 1:08.6193, and Allen rose to second, just 0.003s behind.
Waters then stole the headlines at the death, pipping Wood by just 0.045 seconds.
Track action commences Saturday with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 11:00am AEST/12:00pm AEDT, followed by the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 12:35pm AEST/1:35pm AEDT.
The first 250km race of the weekend, which will be held on the Super Soft tyre, will start at 3:15pm AEST/4:15pm AEDT.
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