News

October 5, 2017 | General

FORM DRIVERS ON TOP IN BATHURST PRACTICE

THEY’RE one and two in the championship and true to form it was John Bowe and Adam Bressington one and two in practice today at Mount Panorama.

Bowe’s 2m18.9127s lap set to top practice two usurped Bressington’s 2m19.6731s benchmark that stood at the end of the first session the pair ending the day in that order.

Revelling in perfect conditions and temperatures hovering in the mid 20s Bowe’s lap was 0.7 seconds behind the existing pole record – also held by Bowe – and only 0.3 seconds behind the race lap record.

Bressington topped the first session run earlier in the morning on a slower and green race track.

Ryan Hansford was third fastest overall his 2m20.1176s lap slotting him in behind Bressington and just in front of fellow title contender Steven Johnson.

The Multispares Torana enjoyed a solid day despite running off the road at the chase in the first session prior to hitting traffic and slowing a potentially quicker lap.

Johnson’s quiet day netted him a solid fourth place while teenager Adam Garwood was a stout fifth on the combined times in his Holden Torana.

Though he was a winner before Garwood was a breakout star of last year’s Bathurst round when he stormed through the field driving a Ford Capri Perana.

His pace has continued to develop across the last twelve months with his 2m20.53s lap placing him third on the road in the second session.

Eddie Abelnica was sixth in the Melbourne’s Cheapest Cars XB Falcon despite battling rev limit issues in practice one earlier this morning.

Jim Richards was seventh overall in the Shannons Insurance Falcon Sprint while Tony Karanfilovski slotted into eighth overall in the TIFS Mustang.

The Sydney driver was one spot in front of the returning Brad Tilley and his Falcon GTHO.

The popular Sydneysider – a cult hero to many TCM fans – returned to the track in his iconic Green Falcon today following a two-year rebuild.

Having raced a Ford Mustang in the intervening period Tilley adapted quickly to the Falcon’s very different driving style to post competitive times in both sessions today

Andrew Fisher completed the top-10 in the Jesus Racing XY GTHO returning to the track this weekend with a brand-new engine powering his still-new car.   

Bruce Williams’ AC Delco Torana just missed the top 10 but 11th overall was a solid return to the track despite enduring several engine issues throughout the day.

Today’s two 20-minute practice sessions ran mostly trouble-free however there was no chance of the category escaping a traditional Bathurst hard-luck story.

In his freshly-rebuilt XB GT Hardtop Falcon Keith Kassulke was only one lap into the first practice session when he turned into the left-hand corner just before McPhillamy Park.

Unfortunately the Falcon refused to turn with either a tyre issue or a mechanical failure thought to blame.

The car made hefty contact with the wall and spun across the circuit stopping in the runoff area on the left of the circuit adjacent to the McPhillamy Park gates.

Kassulke was unhurt in the incident however the Falcon will again require significant repairs before again returning to the track.

Porsche runners Rohan Little and Sven Burchartz also endured dramas; Little in the pits with oil leaking from his 911 IROC Challenge car in practice two while Burchartz failed to log a time in his sister entry.

A simple Saturday for TCM will see the cars hit the track for qualifying bright and early in the morning at 8:10am for qualifying – with the first race not set to run until Saturday morning.

COMBINED TIMES – PRACTICE 1 + 2

Pos Car  Competitor/Team                Driver                   Vehicle              Cap   CL          Fastest...Lap        Gap1    18  Wilson Security / PAYCE        John Bowe (VIC)          Holden  Torana SL/R  5047c             P2  2:18.8127* 2    95  Whiteline Racing / Fabre Austr Adam Bressington (NSW)   Chevrolet Camaro SS  5800c             P1  2:19.6731  0:00.86043     6  Multispares Racing             Ryan Hansford (QLD)      Holden  Torana SL/R  5000c             P1  2:20.1176  0:01.30494    17  Synergy Race Engines           Steve Johnson (QLD)      1971 Ford Falcon XY  5800              P2  2:20.2311  0:01.41845    12  Giraffe Civil Contracting      Adam Garwood (TAS)       Holden  Torana A9X   5000c             P2  2:20.5315  0:01.71886    48  Melbourne's Cheapest Cars      Eddie Abelnica (VIC)     Ford Falcon XB Coupe 5800c             P1  2:21.0906  0:02.27797     2  Shannons Insurance             Jim Richards (VIC)       Ford Falcon Sprint   5000c             P2  2:22.1865  0:03.37388    88  TIFS - Warehousing & Distribut Tony Karanfilovski (NSW) Ford Mustang Trans A 5800c             P1  2:22.6185  0:03.80589    28  Speedgas / Tilley Auto Garage  Brad Tilley (NSW)        Ford Falcon XY GT HO 5800c             P2  2:22.8215  0:04.008810    9  Jesus Racing                   Andrew Fisher (NSW)      Ford Falcon XY GT HO 5800c             P1  2:23.1042  0:04.291511    5  ACDelco                        Bruce Williams (VIC)     Holden  Torana SL/R  5000c             P2  2:23.1961  0:04.383412   85  Whiteline Racing / King Spring Mark King (QLD)          Holden  Monaro GTS C 5800c             P2  2:23.3801  0:04.567413   25  Maxi-Trans Trailers            Paul Freestone (VIC)     Chevrolet Camaro     5800c             P2  2:24.2353  0:05.422614    3  Hercules Engines / Lucky's Hot Cameron Mason (NSW)      Ford Mustang Fastbac 5000c             P2  2:24.3962  0:05.583515   74  Lyndways Builders              Wayne Mercer (VIC)       Ford Falcon XY GTHO  5800c             P2  2:24.6221  0:05.809416    4  Skye Sands                     Rusty French (VIC)       Ford Mustang Fastbac 5800c             P1  2:26.3936  0:07.580917   52  Outbound Racing / wheels.com.p Keith Kassulke (QLD)     Ford Falcon XB Coupe 5800c             P1  2:26.6948  0:07.882118    8  Lady Luck Racing               Terry Lawlor (NSW)       Ford Mustang         5000c             P1  2:27.4359  0:08.623219   72  GFR Industries                 Geoff Fane (QLD)         Chevrolet Camaro SS  5800c             P2  2:28.4968  0:09.684120   46  THD Motorsport                 Leo Tobin (VIC)          Ford Boss Mustang    5000c             P2  2:29.4379  0:10.625221   97  Johns Furniture Removals       Allen Boughen (QLD)      Mercury Comet        4736c             P1  2:29.4701  0:10.657422   11  Vic Roads Custom Plates / Cast Melinda Price (VIC)      Ford Falcon XA GT    5800c             P2  2:31.0250  0:12.212323   19  Tincone Industrial Services    Darren Beale (QLD)       Holden  Monaro GTS C 5800c             P2  2:36.3947  0:17.582024   91  Performance 9 / Werks Garage   Stan Adler (QLD)         Porsche 911 IROC     3600c             P2  2:42.3190  0:23.506325    7  Wisely Motorsport              Bob Wisely (QLD)         Holden  Torana A9X   5000c             P1  2:43.8078  0:24.995126   77  Red Rock Winery / Werks Garage Rohan Little (VIC)       Porsche 911 IROC     3600c             P2  2:47.9751  0:29.162427    1  Hawk Brake Pads                Dave Roberts (USA)       Chevrolet Camaro SS  5800c             P2  2:48.9342  0:30.1215

 

 

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