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FORDS TO THE FORE IN TOWNSVILLE

Chaz Mostert has set the pace in Townsville practice - Photo: Dirk Klynsmith

By Bruce Williams

Chaz Mostert has set the pace in Townsville practice - Photo: Dirk Klynsmith

Chaz Mostert has set the pace in Townsville practice – Photo: Dirk Klynsmith

Chaz Mostert and Scott McLaughlin have set the fastest Practice times in Friday’s session for this weekend’s Supercar round in Townsville.

Mostert lapped the track in 1m12.2648s, to finished the second session 0.16s clear of McLaughlin.

“The car’s obviously night and day better than what it was Darwin,” said a relieved Mostert, who started Sunday’s race at Hidden Valley from 13th and finished it 17th.

“It’s a credit to the guys, going through the data after Darwin and trying to assess the mistakes we’ve made. It’s a driver thing [as well], we steer the ship with which direction we want to go down.

“The car felt pretty good and we think there’s a bit more in it if we can just tidy up a few things. But it’s a big relief after Darwin.”

Chaz Mostert in the press conference in Townsville - Photo: Dirk Klynsmith

Chaz Mostert in the press conference in Townsville – Photo: Dirk Klynsmith

Third fastest was Shane van Gisbergen. The defending Supercars Champion had a spin mid-way through the session, but topped Mark Winterbottom (Ford) in the final laps.

Jamie Whincup was fifth fastest ahead of David Reynolds, whose Erebus Commodore set the fastest time in the opening session. Lee Holdsworth, Rick Kelly, Will Davison and James Courtney completed the top 10.

Craig Lowndes had an up and down day, fourth in the first session and 21st in the second, in which he admitted that some things the team tried didn’t work.

The drivers now face a 20-minute Qualifying session at 12:20pm on Saturday, with a 70-lap race starting at 4:10pm.

Make sure you follow Auto Action on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the latest updates across the Supercars round in Townsville this weekend. We’ll also have a full report in the next issue of Auto Action on sale Thursday.