Jamie Whincup completed a Red Bull Holden clean sweep in Sydney Supercars practice, topping the second 30-minute session.
For Whincup there was a stark contrast between the two sessions. Having not done a green tyre run in the first session, he bolted out of the gates on fresh rubber second time around, going quickest with a 1m29.084s on his first run.
That would have been good enough for second on its own, however another green tyre run at the end lowered his best to a 1m28.831, slightly under teammate Shane van Gisbergen’s P1 benchmark.
Speaking after the session Whincup said it was a welcome return to the top of the timesheets after a difficult virtual campaign during the break.
“It’s great to be back cutting laps,” he said. “It’s the first time in 12 weeks I haven’t been a second and a half off the pace in practice, which is nice.
“It’s really quick, fast sessions here. Straight out of P1, you make a few changes, and then straight into P2. But overall, as far as car #88 is concerned, it feels good.
“We did a little bit of a race run, it was reasonable, and the car is pretty good over a lap. Everyone will improve for qualifying, so we’ll have to keep chipping away.”
For the second consecutive session Scott McLaughlin was second fastest, the gap to Whincup 0.15s, with van Gisbergen third.
Lee Holdsworth was best of the Tickford Fords in fourth, as Anton De Pasquale led the way for Erebus once again.
Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert were next, with Kelly Racing pair Andre Heimgartner and Rick Kelly split by Macauley Jones in positions eight to 10.
Second practice results:
| Cla | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’28.831 | |
| 2 |  Scott McLaughlin | Ford Mustang GT | 1’28.989 | 0.157 |
| 3 | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’29.016 | 0.185 |
| 4 | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Mustang GT | 1’29.051 | 0.219 |
| 5 | Anton De Pasquale | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’29.070 | 0.238 |
| 6 | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’29.081 | 0.250 |
| 7 | Chaz Mostert | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’29.272 | 0.441 |
| 8 | Andre Heimgartner | Ford Mustang GT | 1’29.273 | 0.441 |
| 9 | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’29.313 | 0.481 |
| 10 | Rick Kelly | Ford Mustang GT | 1’29.394 | 0.563 |
| 11 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Mustang GT | 1’29.405 | 0.574 |
| 12 | Cameron Waters | Ford Mustang GT | 1’29.454 | 0.623 |
| 13 | Todd Hazelwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’29.499 | 0.668 |
| 14 | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’29.531 | 0.700 |
| 15 | Jack Le Brocq | Ford Mustang GT | 1’29.631 | 0.799 |
| 16 | Garry Jacobson | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’29.638 | 0.807 |
| 17 | James Courtney | Ford Mustang GT | 1’29.650 | 0.818 |
| 18 | Bryce Fullwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’29.652 | 0.821 |
| 19 | Mark Winterbottom | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’29.793 | 0.962 |
| 20 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’29.804 | 0.972 |
| 21 | Alex Davison | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’29.931 | 1.100 |
| 22 | Jack Smith | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’30.102 | 1.271 |
| 23 | Chris Pither | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’30.198 | 1.367 |
| 24 | Jake Kostecki | Holden Commodore ZB | 1’30.576 | 1.745 |
| View full results | ||||
Source: Read Full Article