COULTHARD AND MCLAUGHLIN FAST AROUND THE MOUNTAIN

PRESS RELEASE/Shell V-Power Racing Team – Photo: John Morris

Fabian Coulthard & Tony D’Alberto – No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Practice 1 – 6th (Fastest Lap: 2m25.9205s (wet) – Fabian)
Practice 2 – 5th (Fastest Lap: 2m36.7785s (wet) – Tony)
Practice 3 – 2nd (Fastest Lap: 2m29.1428s (wet) – Fabian)

Scott McLaughlin & Alex Premat – No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Practice 1 – 16th (Fastest Lap: 2m29.0767s (wet) – Scott)
Practice 2 – 1st (Fastest Lap: 2m35.1824s (wet) – Alex)
Practice 3 – 3rd (Fastest Lap: 2m29.5703s (wet) – Scott)

 RECAP: The opening day of the 2018 Bathurst 1000 saw practice being held at Mount Panorama in wet conditions, with the first session largely spent bedding braking components and locking in procedures for the team for the weekend ahead. Car No.17 drivers Scott McLaughlin and Alex Premat shared the running throughout the session, whilst Fabian Coulthard ran the entire session in Car No.12.
 
Practice 2, a co-driver only session, saw Tony D’Alberto in Car No.12 and Alex Premat behind the wheel of Car No.17. Alex ran the most laps of any driver, acclimatising to the circuit and the conditions. He ended up running the fastest time of the session, six-tenths quicker than Garry Jacobson in the No.15 Nissan. Tony D’Alberto also ran a lot of laps (14), ending the session fifth fastest.
 
Main drivers returned to their cars for the final session of the day, again held in cold, wet conditions. It was a session where both cars again ran plenty of laps, learning about car balance in changeable conditions. Both Fabian Coulthard and Tony D’Alberto drove Car No.12, whilst Scott McLaughlin ran Car No.17 by himself. Ultimately, Fabian set the second fastest time of the session, with Scott third. Shell V-Power Racing Team will return to the circuit for Practice 4 at 8:35am Friday morning.  

COULTHARD QUOTE: “Today was good, the wet track made the conditions pretty tough, but the team did a good job making Tony and I comfortable in the car. TD did a good job, and it was nice to be up at the top of the time sheets all day. It’ll be different again tomorrow, with the weather looking a bit better so we’ll keep tuning it up before qualifying.”
 
MCLAUGHLIN QUOTE: “It was nice for us to get a read in wet conditions today. We’ve been a bit lost in regard to wet set-up, so it was good to have a play and both cars at the end were up there, so it’s great for everyone. Alex was comfortable, I was comfortable, and it was a pretty good start to the weekend.”

D’ALBERTO QUOTE: “Solid start to the weekend today, ticking a lot of boxes while surviving a very wet and slippery opening day. With the weather improving tomorrow, we’ll keep working and hopefully stay up the front for the rest of the weekend.”
PREMAT QUOTE: “It was pretty good. In P1 and P2 we did some work with the team, to find the right settings for the car, and I’m pretty happy with that. In P2 I did a pretty long stint, and the car was good. So far, so good. Happy days, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

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