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Practice report

Sandown Supercars: Whincup fastest in first practice

Jamie Whincup set the pace in the opening Supercars practice session at Sandown.

Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight Race Engineering

Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight Race Engineering

Mark Horsburgh, Edge Photographics

The Triple Eight driver left his run late in the half-hour session, only jumping to the top with a green tyre run right at the flag.

A 1m08.070s on that final lap was enough to edge Ford rival Cam Waters out to top spot, the margin between the title contenders just 0.08s.

Tim Slade was initially fastest when the chequered flag came out, only to be bumped back to third by Whincup and Waters.

Still, it was an impressive comeback in the spare Blanchard Racing Team chassis off the back of his heartbreaking crash at Bathurst last month.

"It's a good way to start," said Blanchard. "[There's] a few little things to fix up, but it's a good start.

"You can't tell the difference [to the Bathurst car]. I never through it was going to be an issue, jumping into another chassis. This car is exactly how the guys want everyone, it's kind of like the #1 BRT chassis. If anything it should be better."

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Waters and Slade headed a gaggle of Mustangs, followed by James Courtney, David Reynolds and Jack Le Brocq.

Todd Hazelwood was the next best Holden in seventh, followed by injured series leader Shane van Gisbergen.

The session was a stern test for the Kiwi's broken collarbone, however he passed with flying colours, even leading the way until the late flurry of times. He only slipped back after electing against a green tyre run at the end of the session.

Andre Heimgartner and Mark Winterbottom rounded out the Top 10.

It was a slow start for a number of contenders, including Chaz Mostert who currently sits second in the points. He could only manage the 13th fastest time, while the Dick Johnson Racing entries were 16th (Anton De Pasquale) and 19th (Will Davison).

Cla # Driver Car Time Gap Interval
1 88 Australia Jamie Whincup
Holden Commodore ZB 1'08.070
2 6 Australia Cameron Waters
Ford Mustang GT 1'08.159 0.088 0.088
3 3 Australia Tim Slade
Ford Mustang GT 1'08.245 0.175 0.086
4 44 Australia James Courtney
Ford Mustang GT 1'08.321 0.250 0.075
5 26 Australia David Reynolds
Ford Mustang GT 1'08.418 0.347 0.096
6 5 Australia Jack Le Brocq
Ford Mustang GT 1'08.424 0.353 0.006
7 14 Australia Todd Hazelwood
Holden Commodore ZB 1'08.490 0.419 0.065
8 97 New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen
Holden Commodore ZB 1'08.506 0.435 0.015
9 7 New Zealand Andre Heimgartner
Ford Mustang GT 1'08.542 0.471 0.035
10 18 Australia Mark Winterbottom
Holden Commodore ZB 1'08.562 0.491 0.020
11 96 Australia Macauley Jones
Holden Commodore ZB 1'08.572 0.501 0.010
12 22 Australia Garry Jacobson
Holden Commodore ZB 1'08.581 0.510 0.008
13 25 Australia Chaz Mostert
Holden Commodore ZB 1'08.656 0.585 0.074
14 34 Australia Jake Kostecki
Holden Commodore ZB 1'08.710 0.639 0.054
15 19 New Zealand Fabian Coulthard
Holden Commodore ZB 1'08.798 0.727 0.087
16 100 Australia Anton De Pasquale
Ford Mustang GT 1'08.805 0.734 0.006
17 8 Australia Nick Percat
Holden Commodore ZB 1'08.817 0.746 0.012
18 9 Australia Will Brown
Holden Commodore ZB 1'08.834 0.763 0.016
19 17 Australia Will Davison
Ford Mustang GT 1'08.901 0.831 0.067
20 20 Australia Scott Pye
Holden Commodore ZB 1'08.976 0.906 0.075
21 2 Australia Bryce Fullwood
Holden Commodore ZB 1'09.006 0.935 0.029
22 35 Australia Zane Goddard
Holden Commodore ZB 1'09.432 1.361 0.426
23 4 Australia Jack Smith
Holden Commodore ZB 1'09.521 1.451 0.089
24 99 Brodie Kostecki
Holden Commodore ZB 1'09.755 1.684 0.233

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