It was a solid opening day to our event at Sandown Raceway with plenty of drama to occur throughout the day.
The stage is now set for two days of action, for which fans can tune in via the Stan Sport broadcast at 11am AEST, or via the Live Blog.
Tickets for both days are still available and can be purchased via motorsporttickets.com.au, however due to inclement weather Park ‘N’ View will not be available for spectators upon request of the circuit. Free grandstand and paddock access is available for all ticket holders to stay dry and undercover in the event of rain.
Gulf Western Oil Touring Car Masters (TCM)
Cameron Tilley will lead the Gulf Western Oils Touring Cars Masters field in Saturday’s official race after taking out pole position in a chaotic qualifying session that red flagged twice.
Stating on the front row alongside Tilley will be Ryan Hansford in second place, while John Bowe and Peter Burnitt grabbed third and fourth for the session.
Only half the grid was able to post a time before the red flags ultimately ended the session, with a number of high profile drivers missing out. George Miedecke was one of those unable to post a time after going fastest in the day’s only practice session.
The trophy race will begin at 12:15pm AEST on Saturday with race one commencing later in the afternoon at 3:35pm AEST.
Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia
Ryan Woods turned up the heat in a wet qualifying session that saw him finish four-tenths ahead of Aron Shields to claim pole position for the upcoming race.
After leading the way in both practice sessions earlier on in the day, Tom Sargent will start on the second row alongside Courtney Prince, who put in an impressive lap to post the third fastest time of the session.
Tricky conditions forced drivers to be at the top of their game, and while many incidents occurred during the session, Woods has set himself up for a good weekend to potentially take the lead in the championship standings.
Race one of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series will begin on Saturday at 11:10am AEST.
Australian Production Cars (APC)
Drew Russell put on a masterclass in a wet qualifying session to finish more than one second ahead of Cameron Crick in second place.
After the first two practice sessions were held on a dry track, the wet provided a greater challenge for the drivers which saw Russell in a class of his own.
Mathew Holt will start third on the grid after edging out Chris Lills by just two thousandths to make up the second row for the upcoming race.
The first race of the weekend will take place on Saturday at 12:45pm AEST.
Turtle Wax Trans Am Series
All American Auto Parts and Driveline Ford Mustang’s Ben Grice dominated both Turtle Wax Trans Am Series practice sessions.
While the Victorian was quickest all day, Owen Kelly fell three tenths short in the Ford Mustang in both sessions, finishing in second place twice behind Grice, but still has his eyes on top spot in the series, showing some good pace.
Supercheap Auto’s Nash Morris rounded out the top three in both sessions, but still has a couple tenths to find if he wants to compete with Grice and Kelly come qualifying.
Qualifying will take place on Saturday 10:15am AEST before the first race of the weekend.
Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS
After finishing the first practice session in second, Liam Talbot and Fraser Ross concluded day one with the fastest time in the second practice.
Fellow championship rivals, Prince Jefri Ibrahim and Shane van Gisbergen finished the first session in top spot but were a tenth slower than Talbot and Ross in the second practice – setting up what should be an entertaining Qualifying.
Championship leader Yasser Shahin finished in third position in both sessions alongside co-driver Garth Tander.
The first of two qualifying sessions will take place first thing Saturday morning at 9:25am AEST.
Supercheap Auto TCR Australia
Bailey Sweeny topped the time sheets in practice one despite the session shortened due to Ben Bagwanna clipping the wall at turn nine, resulting in a red flag.
Sweeny then finished practice two in fourth position, as another youngster in Jay Henson continued his championship charge by topping the session by just three hundredths of a second over Michael Caruso.
Qualifying will commence at 11:30am AEST on Saturday with coverage available on Stan Sport.
