A crash involving Holden rookie Macauley Jones has marred practice before the final leg of qualifying for the first Supercars race of the season in Adelaide.
Defending series champion Scott McLaughlin of Ford topped the time sheets but all eyes were on Jones after his high-speed accident ensured the 30-minute practice session ended under a red flag.
Jones emerged unscathed but his severely damaged Brad Jones Racing Commodore is unlikely to be repaired in time for Saturday’s opening 250km race.
Jones made heavy contact with the tyre barrier on turn nine due to a brake failure.
His father Brad Jones – also the Holden team’s boss – looked on in horror from pit lane.
« He’s had a brake failure. He’s OK but I can’t say the same thing for the car, there is a lot of work to be done, » Brad Jones said.
« Looking how hard that thing hit I would be surprised if we can do anything with it.
« I am pretty devastated for Macca. He had not put a foot wrong so far.
« It’s not the way you want to start your first race but it looks like he is fine. »
After claiming provisional pole in Friday’s qualifying, McLaughlin clocked 1min 20.22 seconds in practice to continue his dominance on the tough street circuit.
Holden’s Shane van Gisbergen – aiming to become the first to win five-straight races in Adelaide – was second fastest in practice ahead of Jones’s teammate Tim Slade.
McLaughlin didn’t have it all his own way, narrowly avoiding trouble on the concrete wall-lined track on turn eight.
« Oh my god, that was as close as you’d want to get. It shows how hard we’re pushing, I guess, » McLaughlin said of the moment.
The first five rows of the grid will be determined by the top 10 shootout from 1435 AEDT before the opening 78-lap race from 1715 AEDT.
http://www.espn.com/v8-supercars/story/_/id/26114589/crash-mars-supercars-practice-adelaide
