David Wall has posted the fastest ever Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup Australia lap of the 2.87km Hidden Valley Raceway after Friday’s two practice sessions, while Anthony Gilbertson was quick to acclimatise to the Darwin conditions with the best time in the TAG Heuer Pro-Am.
While Wall topped both practice sessions, the reigning champion’s best time came from the cooler morning session; his lap of 1:07.3779 was two-tenths better than the previous best of Matt Campbell set during Darwin qualifying in 2016 in the previous generation 911 GT3 Cup.
“Topping both sessions is all we can ask for. I was especially happy with the first session; I was a bit quicker there but conditions favoured the early session, but to back it up in the second session was great,” said Wall.
“The 2016 round was a turning point for us in Darwin, then 2017 was a very strong round for us so I felt like we could come here and be reasonably fast, but to come away first for the day is a credit to all at Wall Racing.”
Following his clean sweep in Darwin last year, leading Michelin Junior Jaxon Evans was the next best in both sessions finishing the day 0.28secs behind Wall, while former Supercars driver Dale Wood was third quickest on Friday.
Despite having never driven the Hidden Valley circuit, series rookie Anthony Gilbertson was the TAG Heuer Pro-Am pacesetter on Friday.
Adrian Flack was the best in the class in practice one however Gilbertson improved his pace by over half a second in practice two to record the best time in class.
“Our cars today are just working for this circuit. There is no doubt that the reason I’m up there and that Jaxon is at the pointy end is because the team has given us a great set-up,” said Gilbertson.
“I’m loving this circuit and it’s my first time here so it’s great to be able to get up to pace and top the Pro-Am class straight away.”
Class points leader Roger Lago and reigning class champion Stephen Grove both improved their times in the second session to place second and third in the combined class times ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session.
Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup Australia will return on Saturday for qualifying at 12:30pm (local time) to determine the starting grid for the 18-lap race one at 3:05pm later in the day. The 18-lap race two will be held at 8:45am on Sunday morning before the 35-lap third race of the Endurance Cup is held at midday on Sunday.
Qualifying and all three Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup Australia races can be viewed nationwide live on Fox Sports 506.
Race Schedule (local time)
Saturday June 16, 2018
12:30pm Qualifying (20 minutes)
3:05pm Race 1 (18 laps)
Sunday June 17, 2018
8:45am Race 2 (18 laps)
12:00pm Race 3 (35 laps)
Broadcast Schedule (local time)
Qualifying – 12:30pm, Saturday June 16
Race 1 – 3:05pm, Saturday June 16
Race 2 – 8:45am, Sunday June 17
Race 3 – 12:00pm, Sunday June 17
Results: Practice 1 & 2 (combined)
1. #1 David Wall (Pro) PAYCE/Wilson Security – 1:07.3779
2. #7 Jaxon Evans (Pro) Morris Finance – 1:07.6632 (0:00.2853)
3. #100 Dale Wood (Pro) Sonic/Polyflor – 1:07.7029 (0:00.3250)
4. #18 James Moffat (Pro) Payce/Wilson Security/JBL – 1:07.8306 (0:00.4527)
5. #777 Jordan Love (Pro) Bob Jane T Marts – 1:07.8599 (0:00.4820)
6. #77 Michael Almond (Pro) Bob Jane T Marts/PSA – 1:07.8664 (0:00.4885)
7. 388 Dylan O’Keeffe (Pro) APB Group – 1:08.0373 (0:00.6594)
8. #19 Anthony Gilbertson (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) Hallmark Homes – 1:08.1530 (0:00.7751)
9. #111 Cameron Hill (Pro) Southern Star Truck Centre – 1:08.1542 (0:00.7763)
10. #23 Roger Lago (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) JBS Australia – 1:08.1766 (0:00.7987)
11. #8 Nick McBride (Pro) Porsche Centre Melbourne – 1:08.1777 (0:00.7998)
12. #4 Stephen Grove (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) Grove Group – 1:08.3364 (0:00.9585)
13. #15 Josh Hunt (Pro) LORY Construction – 1:08.5030 (0:01.1251)
14. #20 Adrian Flack (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) Agas National – 1:08.5412 (0:01.1633)
15. #808 John Steffensen (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) Crown/Timken/Porsche Melbourne – 1:08.5948 (0:01.2169)
16. #6 Tim Miles (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) Miles Advisory Partners/Garage – 1:08.6735 (0:01.2956)
17. #888 Glen Wood (Pro) Porsche Cent Brighton/Doncaster – 1:08.6824 (0:01.3045)
18. #5 Greg Taylor (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) Arris/Strongbuild – 1:08.7016 (0:01.3237)
19. #14 Peter Major (Pro) Sonic/Totally 4×4 – 1:08.8390 (0:01.4611)
20. #22 Dean Cook (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) BMF/Pitman Racing – 1:09.0777 (0:01.6998)
21. #12 Adam Garwood (Pro) Garwood Motorsport – 1:09.1889 (0:01.8110)
22. #9 Marc Cini (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) Hallmarc – 1:10.2371 (0:02.8592)
23. #131 Graham Williams (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) Harcourts Williams – 1:12.7302 (0:05.3523)
