THE PORSCHE Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia form guide is as clear as the Gold Coast sky following two unpredictable and weather-affected practice sessions today at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.
Two 25-minute sessions were held today with the first dry and the second wet – leaving the real competitive order less than certain heading into qualifying on Saturday morning.
Practice 1 was run in overcast and blustery conditions though the threat of rain diminished as the session unfolded.
Dale Wood ended quickest in his Ranbuild / EBM entry, just 0.04 seconds quicker than championship leader Callum Hedge and 0.05 seconds quicker than Alex Davison, who was third.
Dylan O’Keeffe and Luke Youlden completed the top five, with Harri Jones, Christian Pancione, Bayley Hall and Simon Fallon completing the top-10.
Jones was the big story of the session however as his #12 car caught the kerb and then the tyres on the exit of the beach chicane on his seventh lap.
The impact saw his car stranded and red-flagged the session while the recovery was completed.
Jones was OK and the car will be repaired and returned to the circuit for Qualifying on Saturday.
In SP Tools Pro-Am Adrian Flack was quickest and an outstanding 13th outright, with Liam Talbot, Dean Cook, Matt Belford and Sam Shahin the top five.
A large front swept across the circuit moments before the second practice session, turning the circuit from dry to soaked in seconds.
The field fitted Michelin wets for the session which was remarkably completed without any stoppages.
A drying circuit saw times begin to tumble as the session unfolded with Callum Hedge’s late flyer putting the championship leader on top.
Simon Fallon was a strong second in his Bob Jane T-Marts Sonic entry with Fabian Coulthard putting all his experience to good use in third aboard his BWT / Porsche Centre Melbourne entry.
Angelo Mouzouris was a strong fourth in the sister Sonic entry with Max Vidau fifth.
Ryder Quinn was a stout sixth ahead of Thomas Maxwell, Pancione, Nick McBride and title contender Jackson Walls in tenth.
Sam Shahin led the Pro-Am runners in 12th overall in front of Rodney Jane and Adrian Flack.
Only a few minor spins punctuated an otherwise clean session, with no stoppages.
The Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship will qualify on Saturday morning (9:45am local time) at the Gold Coast 500 before the first race at 2:25pm local time.
Both sessions will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo, with the race also live on Channel 7.