Tailem Bend Supercars: Percat leads all in third practice
Nick Percat recovered from an eventful Friday at the track to post the fastest time of all in FP3.
Under blue skies, the third practice session of the weekend got underway from The Bend Motorsport Park on Satuday.
Jamie Whincup was the first to post a flying lap at 1:50.62 seconds, but Nick Percat was soon able to better the fast time to a 1:50.50. Whincup later found himself off in the grass at Turn 9, but he was able to carry on without further incident.
The majority of teams opted to make longer runs until the end of the 45-minute practice, but no driver ran more than a total of 15 laps.
The benchmark was lowered throughout the session with Percat reclaiming the top spot in the closing minutes, completing the course in 1:49.5892 seconds. Mark Winterbottom was second, Chaz Mostert third, Tim Blanchard fourth and Andre Heimgartner rounding out the top-five.
As the checkered flag waved to end practice, James Courtney had a big off at Turn 9, but he was able to avoid sustaining any major damage.
Championship leader Scott McLaughlin had an eventful session, running off course and through the gravel. He would end the session 12th. His main title threat Shane van Gisbergen, who holds the fastest lap of the weekend (1:48.7499 seconds in FP2), clocked in sixth.
| Cla | # | Driver | Car | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 |  Nick Percat | Holden Commodore ZB | 13 | 1'49.5892 | 162.607 | ||
| 2 | 5 |  Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG X | 13 | 1'49.8140 | 0.2248 | 0.2248 | 162.274 |
| 3 | 55 |  Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG X | 15 | 1'49.8229 | 0.2337 | 0.0089 | 162.261 |
| 4 | 21 |  Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore ZB | 14 | 1'49.8925 | 0.3033 | 0.0696 | 162.158 |
| 5 | 7 |  Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Altima | 15 | 1'49.9753 | 0.3861 | 0.0828 | 162.036 |
| 6 | 97 |  Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore ZB | 14 | 1'49.9947 | 0.4055 | 0.0194 | 162.007 |
| 7 | 888 |  Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore ZB | 12 | 1'50.0355 | 0.4463 | 0.0408 | 161.947 |
| 8 | 14 |  Tim Slade | Holden Commodore ZB | 13 | 1'50.1738 | 0.5846 | 0.1383 | 161.744 |
| 9 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore ZB | 13 | 1'50.3034 | 0.7142 | 0.1296 | 161.554 |
| 10 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 15 | 1'50.3258 | 0.7366 | 0.0224 | 161.521 |
| 11 | 34 | James Golding | Holden Commodore ZB | 13 | 1'50.3403 | 0.7511 | 0.0145 | 161.500 |
| 12 | 17 |  Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG X | 13 | 1'50.3459 | 0.7567 | 0.0056 | 161.492 |
| 13 | 99 | Anton de | Holden Commodore ZB | 12 | 1'50.3748 | 0.7856 | 0.0289 | 161.449 |
| 14 | 2 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore ZB | 15 | 1'50.4296 | 0.8404 | 0.0548 | 161.369 |
| 15 | 9 | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore ZB | 13 | 1'50.6007 | 1.0115 | 0.1711 | 161.120 |
| 16 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG X | 12 | 1'50.7342 | 1.1450 | 0.1335 | 160.925 |
| 17 | 15 |  Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 14 | 1'50.7524 | 1.1632 | 0.0182 | 160.899 |
| 18 | 230 | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG X | 12 | 1'50.8973 | 1.3081 | 0.1449 | 160.689 |
| 19 | 33 |  Garth Tander | Holden Commodore ZB | 15 | 1'50.9855 | 1.3963 | 0.0882 | 160.561 |
| 20 | 25 | James Courtney | Holden Commodore ZB | 14 | 1'51.0550 | 1.4658 | 0.0695 | 160.461 |
| 21 | 4 | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore ZB | 14 | 1'51.0731 | 1.4839 | 0.0181 | 160.434 |
| 22 | 56 | Richie Stanaway | Ford Falcon FG X | 12 | 1'51.3031 | 1.7139 | 0.2300 | 160.103 |
| 23 | 78 |  Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Altima | 14 | 1'51.4145 | 1.8253 | 0.1114 | 159.943 |
| 24 | 6 |  Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG X | 13 | 1'51.6665 | 2.0773 | 0.2520 | 159.582 |
| 25 | 42 | Kurt Kostecki | Holden Commodore ZB | 14 | 1'51.9312 | 2.3420 | 0.2647 | 159.204 |
| 26 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Holden Commodore ZB | 14 | 1'52.0859 | 2.4967 | 0.1547 | 158.985 |
| 27 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth Jason Bright | Holden Commodore ZB | 12 | 1'52.5347 | 2.9455 | 0.4488 | 158.351 |
| 28 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Ford Falcon FG X | 14 | 1'53.0588 | 3.4696 | 0.5241 | 157.617 |
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About this article
| Series | Supercars |
| Author | Nick DeGroot |
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