Rick Kelly tops Supercars tyre test

The final half-hour of the afternoon session saw a major reshuffle in the times, with a number of competitors switching to the new-construction super soft tyre to have a go at a lap time right at the end.

One of them was Kelly, who fired to the top 10 minutes from the end with a 1m28.775s lap.

Scott McLaughlin went faster in both the first and second sectors several minutes later as he put in a super soft run on his own, but the new DJR Team Penske driver fell 0.012s short of knocking Kelly from top spot.

McLaughlin’s teammate Fabian Coulthard improved at almost the same time, settling into third with a 1m28.851s, just over a half a tenth behind McLaughlin.

Chaz Mostert was fourth quickest, having jumped to second just before the two Penske Fords improved, and the last of the drivers to go under the 1m29s mark.

Shane van Gisbergen was fifth fastest in the afternoon session, despite battling steering vibration issues in his brand new Triple Eight Commodore.

Will Davison (Tekno), Tim Blanchard (Brad Jones Racing), Lee Holdsworth (Team 18), and Erebus pair David Reynolds and Dale Wood rounded out the Top 10 for the afternoon.

Further back in the field, Jason Bright celebrated his return to the Prodrive Racing Australia stable with the 14th best time, while Garth Tander was the best of the new Garry Rogers Commodores in 15th, immediately ahead of Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom.

High-profile rookie Simona de Silvestro finished up 18th despite having jumped into the Top 10 inside the last hour, while Craig Lowndes was well down the order in the afternoon session with just the 24th best time.

New BJR signing Nick Percat didn’t make it to the end of the day, an engine problem seeing his running cut short two hours from the end.

In the morning session it was BJR’s Tim Slade and Lowndes that set the pace, Slade with a 1m29.092s and Lowndes with a 1m29.417s. Reynolds was the only other driver into the 1m29s with a 1m29.501s.

Times – Afternoon

Times – Morning