Fords have blitzed their Holden rivals during the second practice session of the Supercars’ Perth round.
Falcon drivers clocked the top three fastest times of the Friday afternoon session at Barbagallo Raceway as championship leader Scott McLaughlin continued his hot form.
The Shell V-Power star drove a scorching lap of 54.89sec to clinch top spot with less than five minutes to go in the session.
McLaughlin’s teammate Fabian Coulthard was pushed to third when Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters jumped to second with a late burst.
New Zealand ace McLaughlin is coming off a dream round at the Phillip Island 500 where he saluted in both races after starting in pole.
He also has recent form in Perth after claiming a pair of victories last year to go with his maiden win at the track in 2014 when he was driving a Volvo.
McLaughlin was happy with the practice results, but knew the Holden drivers had much more to give.
« It’s nice to come to a track that we enjoy, we’ve always gone well here as a squad (with Coulthard), » McLaughlin said.
« It’s just nice to be in the (top) ten, I’m stressed out with this bloody qualifying system – it’s full on. »
Jamie Whincup was the highest-placed Holden driver as the Red Bull star shot up to fourth late after enduring a tough session early on where he was outside the top 20.
Fellow Commodore driver Anton de Pasquale rounded out the top five.
Seven-time champion Whincup is desperate to respond after a disastrous round at Phillip Island two weeks ago where he lost his series lead.
Whincup enters the fifth leg of the season precariously placed in fifth behind McLaughlin, David Reynolds, Shane van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes.
Veteran Lowndes struggled in practice, finishing last of the 26 drivers.
Another practice is set for 10am local time (12pm AEST) on Saturday before qualifying for the first race of the round is split into three 10-minute parts.
The 50-lap race, which is the 11th of the season, is scheduled for 2.45pm local time (4.45pm AEST) on Saturday.
http://www.espn.com/v8-supercars/story/_/id/23399655/fords-dominate-supercars-practice-perth
