Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup Australia was unleashed on The Bend Motorsport Park to commence round six of the 2018 season, with the field of Porsche racers impressed by Australia’s newest motor racing circuit.

The Bend founder Sam Shahin was among the 24-strong Carrera Cup field for Friday’s two practice sessions, posting the sixth best overall time in the opening session before finishing the day 11th quickest overall and second best of the TAG Heuer Pro-Am competitors.

“It’s a spectacular day on all fronts,” said Shahin after Friday’s second practice session. “I’m just exhausted really, but that’s the nature of the beast; you have to be 100 percent committed behind the wheel of the car. The car felt good and the morning session so we’ll work out how to get fast and stay safe tomorrow.

“I’m embarrassed to say the number of times I had to hit myself on the helmet to say ‘eyes forward’. My eyes kept glazing to the left at the stands and to the right at the mounts full of people, full of colour. It’s such a spectacular sight and I’m just so proud to showcase this wonderful venue in its full glory today.”

James Moffat was the best performer throughout Friday, topping both practice sessions and finishing the day with a time of 1:51.2942, a time 0.44secs ahead of Sonic Motor Racing duo Michael Almond and Jordan Love.

“You can’t be too unhappy about that; it’s good to hit the track with a good, fast car,” said Moffat.

“It’s a mega track and we’re definitely working hard out there. Full credit to the Shahin family; it’s just so great to have someone prepared to invest in a facility like this. It’s special to race here and the circuit really suits the Porsche. It’s a mega track to drive; very challenging but also very rewarding, which is what you want as a driver.”

Series leader Jaxon Evans was the fourth fastest driver of the day from reigning champion David Wall, Dylan O’Keeffe, Glen Wood and Nick McBride.

Fresh from his maiden TAG Heuer Pro-Am round win at Sydney Motorsport Park, series rookie Adrian Flack was the Pro-Am pace-setter on Friday from Shahin, Roger Lago, class leader Stephen Grove and Anthony Gilbertson.

“It was really good out there today. The car was balanced nicely and I was happy about how the team performed,” said Flack.

“We had a test day here so I was able to get my head around this circuit. Hopefully we can go out there and be faster tomorrow into qualifying and the opening race one.”

Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup Australia will commence qualifying at 12:10pm on Saturday afternoon before the 20-lap race one, which will be the fourth race at the six-race Endurance Cup. Sunday will then feature two sprint races. Fox Sports 506 will broadcast qualifying and all races live nationwide.

Race Schedule
Saturday 25 August
12:10pm Qualifying (20 minutes)
2:50pm Race 1 (20 laps)
Sunday 26 August
9:50am Race 2 (8 laps)
12:35pm Race 3 (8 laps)

Broadcast Schedule
Channel: Fox Sports 506
Qualifying – 12:10pm, Saturday 25 August
Race 1 – 2:50pm, Saturday 25 August
Race 2 – 9:50am, Sunday 26 August
Race 3 – 12:35pm, Sunday 26 August

Results: Practice 1 & 2 (combined)
1. #18 James Moffat (Pro) 1:51.2942R
2. #77 Michael Almond (Pro) 1:51.7413r (-0:00.4471)
3. #777 Jordan Love (Pro) 1:51.7539r (-0:00.4597)
4. #7 Jaxon Evans (Pro) 1:51.8851r (-0:00.5909)
5. #1 David Wall (Pro) 1:51.9491r (-0:00.6549)
6. #88 Dylan O’Keeffe (Pro) 1:52.5643 (-0:01.2701)
7. #888 Glen Wood (Pro) 1:52.6457 (-0:01.3515)
8. #8 Nick McBride (Pro) 1:52.9631 (-0:01.6689)
9. #20 Adrian Flack (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 1:52.9755 (-0:01.6813)
10. #100 Dale Wood (Pro) 1:53.1547 (-0:01.8605)
11. #13 Sam Shahin (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 1:53.2044 (-0:01.9102)
12. #12 Adam Garwood (Pro) 1:53.5481 (-0:02.2539)
13. #23 Roger Lago (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 1:53.6505 (-0:02.3563)
14. #4 Stephen Grove (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 1:53.7932 (-0:02.4990)
15. #111 Cameron Hill (Pro) 1:53.9293 (-0:02.6351)
16. #19 Anthony Gilbertson (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 1:54.0560 (-0:02.7618)
17. #6 Tim Miles (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 1:54.2224 (-0:02.9282)
18. #14 Peter Major (Pro) 1:54.2339 (-0:02.9397)
19. #22 Dean Cook (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 1:54.6903 (-0:03.3961)
20. #80 Max Twigg (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 1:54.9235 (-0:03.6293)
21. #15 Ben Stack (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 1:55.3063 (-0:04.0121)
22. #9 Marc Cini (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 1:57.2831 (-0:05.9889)
23. #35 Indiran Padayachee (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 1:57.5112 (-0:06.2170)
24. #131 Graham Williams (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 1:58.4258 (-0:07.1316)