1615 And this is how they thought they went – no one said “we’re there or thereabouts” so we’re getting the weekend off to a good start.
Jamie Whincup – Car #1
Practice 1 – Fourth (Fastest Time: 1:13.0625)
Practice 2 – First (Lap Time: 1:12.2435)
“I almost feel like this place is a bit of a hybrid so we’re not putting any emphasis on this as purely a street track. Today was good but what matters is tomorrow and Sunday. I expect the battles to continue for all races, all rounds, that’s what sport is about. You battle it out pit stop to pit stop, lap after lap, which is what it should be. The ZB Commodore is good and the ZB has got massive potential. As I’ve said before, we’ve done a poor job in extracting the most out of it the past three or four months but we’re slowly getting there at the moment. The success of this event comes down to the fans here, they are good people and they want the race, so it’s all about them.”
Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97
Practice 1 – First (Fastest Time: 1:12.6700)
Practice 2 – Second (Fastest Time: 1:12.5872)
“I think it’s been a good start, all three cars have been quick most of the day and we got to have a trouble-free day. We ran through most of the program, tried a few things and it seems pretty promising. We have continually developed the car since Adelaide, the car now is quite a different car since then but it would be rude to ignore that car, it was pretty good. Like I’ve said before, we’re as quick as anyone, if not faster in races, but it’s just the qualifying where we haven’t been our best. The track is good to drive, I particularly liked it today when it was cloudy and not so hot, the heat sucks – especially backing it up with a race on Sunday after the Saturday night race here is brutal – this one is one of the toughest races. (Craig) Lowndesy’s retirement announcement was huge news this morning, it caught a lot of people off guard. There’s not much that can be said that hasn’t been said already; he’s a huge icon and a hero to everyone in the sport. I have some pretty awesome memories – I’ve not only been a fan of his but have also worked with him the last three years so it’s going to be awesome to see him finish the season strong and then carry on his career as an enduro driver.”
1545 Practice 2 done and that’s us for the day. J-Dub took the gig at the top with a fastest time of 1:12.2435 while SVG was on his tail in P2 (1:12.5872).
1315 Busy signing session over at our official merchandise store – for some reason Lowndesy was a popular man today…
1205 Practice 1 is complete – SVG comes out on top in P1 while J-Dub isn’t far behind in P4 (he was sitting pretty in P1 for most of the session).
1100 J-Dub and SVG are fighting over who gets Lowndesy to co-drive for them in the future… Awkward since Paul “PD” Dumbrell is overhearing the whole debate.
1000 Huge news just in, our good mate and Australian motorsport legend Craig “Lowndesy” Lowndes has callled time on his full-time driving at end of 2018. What a ride it’s been Lowndesy…
0900 Word’s in that there’s a huge announcement at 10:00am… Thoughts? Our guess is that J-Dub is apologising for Bathurst 2014.
0815 But first, J-Dub’s got a photo shoot. Standard.
0700 Today, we hit the track in Townsville…
