Whincup tops final practice

Jamie Whincup has turned his opening session woes around by topping the final practice session at Sydney Motorsport Park.

A late charge by Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen saw the kiwi duo end up second and third.

Practice 1 times were instantly abolished as Whincup, who suffered a troubled opening session, set a 1.29.084 to leap himself to the top of the timing board in the opening few minutes.

The seven-time series champion then improved his own personal best to set a 1.28.8314, knocking on the door of qualifying times last time the championship visited the New South Wales venue.

Whincup’s time would not be headed as one-by-one his rivals failed to pip the Red Bull Commodore.

Erebus duo Anton De Pasquale and David Reynolds proved competitive out of the gates and carried their fine form into Free Practice 2.

De Pasqaule would end the session fifth, nine spots ahead of his teammate.

After a strong opening session, incumbent series champion Scott McLaughlin was evidently focused on their long stint performance.

The kiwi and DJR Team Penske teammate Fabian Coulthard accommodated the lowly positions until the final 10 minutes where they elevated themselves to second and seventh respectively.

A relatively clean session was almost interrupted when Van Gisbergen went for a wild ride along the grass at turn 3. Though barring some superficial damage the practice one leader continued on with his stint.

Next up for the field is qualifying followed by a Top 15 shootout which is set to begin from 3.15 pm NZT.

_{Main Image: Motorsport Australia}