Bathurst 1000: Canto leads lightning fast co-driver practice
Dean Canto pipped James Golding to top a lightning fast co-driver practice session that saw times dip into the 2m05.3s.
Photo by: Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images
The Prodrive Racing driver backed up his session-topping effort yesterday to finish up on top of the co-driver field, doing so with a stunning 2m05.336s lap.
The times shifted down into the sixes in the early part of the session, Warren Luff and Todd Hazelwood both banking late 2m06s laps inside the first 10 minutes.
The benchmark was lowered again as the session headed towards the 20-minute mark, Canto jumping to the top for the first time with a 2m06.443s.
HSV Racing’s Jack Perkins enjoyed a brief stint at the top at the half-hour mark with a 2m06.245s, before the session briefly turned into a battle of the Prodrive co-drivers.
Canto went first, going quickest with a 2m06.182s. He was immediately replaced by Steve Owen, who banked a 2m06.102s, before Canto hit back by becoming the first co-driver into the fives with a 2m05.964s.
At the same time Richie Stanaway got involved, recovering from an earlier engine issue to pop up in second with a 2m06.085s.
With a little under 20 minutes to go Alex Premat put DJR Team Penske into the heat of the battle, moving up to second with a 2m06.055s.
Just seconds later, Ford’s monopoly on the top four was broken when Luff banged out a 2m05.484 in his HSV Commodore. Steve Owen did his best to respond straight away, improving to a 2m05.764s and then a 2m05.553 on consecutive laps.
There was another red flag with seven minutes to go thanks to Taz Douglas beaching himself at the last corner, which led to a three-minute green tyre sprint at the end of the session.
While GRM driver James Golding looked to have got the best of the one-lap shootout when he jumped to the top with a 2m05.345s, it was Canto who had the last laugh, sealing P1 with a 2m05.336s right at the flag.
“It’s always exciting when you see a five on the dash and then you hear the call over the radio P1 for the session,” said Canto.
“Co-drivers, we’re always trying to do our best out there. It’s not about being the quickest, but it’s always nice to finish on top.”
Golding wound up second by just 0.008s, while Luff – who opted to sit out the last three minutes, dropped back to third.
Triple Eight’s Paul Dumbrell made big gains on his final lap, winding up fourth with a 2m05.545s, which dropped Owen back to fifth.
Hazelwood finished up sixth quickest, ahead of Stanaway and Penske pair Tony D’Alberto and Alex Premat.
Macauley Jones rounded out the Top 10.
Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom Dean Canto |
Ford Falcon FG-X | 2'05.3368 | |
2 | 33 | Garth Tander James Golding |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'05.3456 | 0.0088 |
3 | 2 | Warren Luff Scott Pye |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'05.4848 | 0.1480 |
4 | 88 | Jamie Whincup Paul Dumbrell |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'05.5450 | 0.2082 |
5 | 55 | Steven Owen Chaz Mostert |
Ford Falcon FG-X | 2'05.5539 | 0.2171 |
6 | 21 | Tim Blanchard Todd Hazelwood |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'05.8204 | 0.4836 |
7 | 6 | Richie Stanaway Cameron Waters |
Ford Falcon FG-X | 2'05.8795 | 0.5427 |
8 | 12 | Tony D'Alberto Fabian Coulthard |
Ford Falcon FG/X | 2'05.8950 | 0.5582 |
9 | 17 | Alexandre Prémat Scott McLaughlin |
Ford Falcon FG-X | 2'06.0554 | 0.7186 |
10 | 8 | Nick Percat Macauley Jones |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'06.1096 | 0.7728 |
11 | 22 | James Courtney Jack Perkins |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'06.2457 | 0.9089 |
12 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro David Russell |
Nissan Altima | 2'06.2843 | 0.9475 |
13 | 888 | Steven Richards Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'06.4563 | 1.1195 |
14 | 23 | Michael Caruso Dean Fiore |
Nissan Altima | 2'06.4716 | 1.1348 |
15 | 15 | Rick Kelly David Wall |
Nissan Altima | 2'06.5905 | 1.2537 |
16 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen Matt Campbell |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'06.7123 | 1.3755 |
17 | 20 | Todd Kelly Jack Le Brocq |
Nissan Altima | 2'06.7146 | 1.3778 |
18 | 56 | Jason Bright Garry Jacobson |
Ford Falcon FG-X | 2'06.7875 | 1.4507 |
19 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth Karl Reindler |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'06.8345 | 1.4977 |
20 | 3 | Aaren Russell Taz Douglas |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'06.8726 | 1.5358 |
21 | 9 | David Reynolds Luke Youlden |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'06.9433 | 1.6065 |
22 | 99 | Dale Wood Chris Pither |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'07.2616 | 1.9248 |
23 | 19 | Jonathon Webb Will Davison |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'07.3893 | 2.0525 |
24 | 14 | Tim Slade Ash Walsh |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'07.4051 | 2.0683 |
25 | 34 | James Moffat Richard Muscat |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'07.6453 | 2.3085 |
26 | 62 | Alex Davison Alex Rullo |
Holden Commodore VF | 2'07.6938 | 2.3570 |
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