Shane van Gisbergen topped the opening practice session for the V8 Supercars on Saturday morning at Sydney Motorsport Park.
The Tekno Holden driver set a best of 1:29.91s as the chequered flag flew, eclipsing previous pace-setter Garth Tander by 0.54s.
Tander, Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup completed a Holden sweep of the top four having all set their best times on their first run.
The performance marked an impressive debut for Tander's new Holden Racing Team chassis, which enjoyed a brief shakedown at Winton on Tuesday prior to this weekend.
The provision for both soft and hard compound pre-marked tyres in practice ensured a significant field spread.
The two Red Bull entries were a second away from Van Gisbergen's time, while fifth placed Will Davison was 1.4s from the pace.
Scott McLaughlin, David Wall, Todd Kelly, David Reynolds and Robert Dahlgren completed the top 10.
Tekno team owner Jonathon Webb told Speedcafe.com that he was encouraged by his charger's early pace.
“We ran hards for the majority and were pretty comfortable on that before running softs at the end just to get a balance,” he said.
“It wasn't a great tyre and we were quicker than we expected to be.
“But we had a good car at the (pre-season Sydney Motorsport Park) test so we knew our baseline was going to be pretty close.
“Anywhere we go this year having that baseline has been really important, but especially today with the scheduling being so tight.”
Those down the order included Ford Performance Racing's Mark Winterbottom, who was just 24th fastest.
The session was dry for its duration, despite cloud cover rolling in as it unfolded.
The Dunlop tyre crew busily fitted wets for teams this morning ahead of predicted showers later in the day.
Result: V8 Supercars Practice 1
1 |
Team Tekno VIP Petfoods |
Shane Van Gisbergen |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:29.91 |
|
2 |
Holden Racing Team |
Garth Tander |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:30.45 |
00:00.54 |
3 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:30.82 |
00:00.91 |
4 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
Jamie Whincup |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:30.89 |
00:00.98 |
5 |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
Will Davison |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
01:31.23 |
00:01.32 |
6 |
Valvoline Racing GRM |
Scott McLaughlin |
Volvo S60 |
01:31.25 |
00:01.34 |
7 |
Wilson Security Racing |
David Wall |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:31.28 |
00:01.37 |
8 |
Jack Daniel's Racing |
Todd Kelly |
Nissan Altima |
01:31.30 |
00:01.39 |
9 |
The Bottle-O Racing Team |
David Reynolds |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:31.33 |
00:01.42 |
10 |
Valvoline Racing GRM |
Robert Dahlgren |
Volvo S60 |
01:31.33 |
00:01.42 |
11 |
Norton Hornets |
James Moffat |
Nissan Altima |
01:31.35 |
00:01.44 |
12 |
Wilson Security Racing |
Scott Pye |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:31.38 |
00:01.47 |
13 |
Norton Hornets |
Michael Caruso |
Nissan Altima |
01:31.41 |
00:01.50 |
14 |
Ford Pepsi Max Crew |
Chaz Mostert |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:31.43 |
00:01.52 |
15 |
Team BOC |
Jason Bright |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:31.55 |
00:01.64 |
16 |
Jack Daniel's Racing |
Rick Kelly |
Nissan Altima |
01:31.58 |
00:01.67 |
17 |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
Lee Holdsworth |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
01:31.74 |
00:01.83 |
18 |
Supercheap Auto Racing |
Tim Slade |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:31.77 |
00:01.86 |
19 |
Holden Racing Team |
James Courtney |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:31.77 |
00:01.86 |
20 |
Walkinshaw Racing |
Nick Percat |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:31.83 |
00:01.92 |
21 |
Lockwood Racing |
Fabian Coulthard |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:31.93 |
00:02.02 |
22 |
Team Advam/GB |
Dale Wood |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:31.99 |
00:02.08 |
23 |
Team JELD-WEN |
Jack Perkins |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:32.04 |
00:02.13 |
24 |
Ford Pepsi Max Crew |
Mark Winterbottom |
Ford Falcon FG |
01:32.09 |
00:02.18 |
25 |
Repair Management Aust Racing |
Russell Ingall |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:32.38 |
00:02.48 |