HALL TOPS CO-DRIVER PRACTICE ON STRONG OPENING DAY AT THE BEND

MEDIA RELEASE/Supercheap Auto Racing – Photos: Velocity Magazine

Supercheap Auto Racing has opened its AirTouch 500 campaign in solid fashion, with Bayley Hall topping Friday’s dedicated co-driver practice session at The Bend.

Hall and seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig Lowndes began their first endurance event together with three 30-minute practice sessions around the West Circuit.

Hall took sole control of the Camaro for Practice 2 and steadily climbed the order throughout the session and moved to the top of the timesheets with a 1:17.4275 on his penultimate lap, edging Hazelwood by 0.0249 seconds to finish the session fastest.

The Supercheap Auto Racing entry continued its strong progress during the final session of the day, improving to a 1:16.7915 to finish Practice 3 in eighth position.

The time ensured all three Team 18-operated entries ended the day inside the top eight.

Lowndes was pleased with the progress made throughout Friday after the team arrived at The Bend with several learnings from its recent test at Queensland Raceway.

While the changing track conditions required the team to continually adjust the car, Lowndes felt increasingly comfortable behind the wheel and praised Hall’s speed and feedback.

The Supercheap Auto Racing team is back in action for two practice sessions from 9:50am followed by Qualifying at 2:45pm for the Airtouch 500 at The Bend. All the action can be viewed live on Fox Sports and Kayo.

SEE THE FULL GALLERY HERE

Craig Lowndes, Primary Driver – #15 Supercheap Auto Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Practice 1: P24 (1:18.2311)
Practice 2: P1 – Bayley Hall (1:17.4275)
Practice 3: P8 (1:16.7915)

“Today was really positive. We came here with some learnings from our test at Queensland Raceway, although this is a very different circuit, and they proved to be beneficial.

“We implemented some of those changes and had to chase the track a little throughout the day, but the car was much more positive by the end of Practice 3 than it was in the opening session.

“Bayley is fitting in really well in terms of his feel for the car. He’s doing a tremendous job with what we need from him, particularly with his raw speed in qualifying-style running.

“I’m also feeling more comfortable in the car and its flow is better. There are still a few small things to work on, particularly improving the tyre life during our race runs, but it was a really positive day from where we started to where we finished.”

Bayley Hall, Co-Driver – #15 Supercheap Auto Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

“I’m struggling to find the words. It’s nice to finally find the rhythm that I’ve always known I’ve had.

“I’m really proud of the team. Everyone has come together, worked hard and stuck to their guns with what they know is right. That was probably the biggest lesson we learned from Queensland Raceway, and it paid off today.

“It’s always fun putting new tyres on in practice because you can push like crazy, but qualifying is where it really matters.

“We’ll keep biding our time, improving and learning, and continue pushing throughout the weekend.”

Saturday 12 September

9:50am, Practice 4 – Additional Drivers (40 mins)
12:00pm, Practice 5 – All Drivers (40 mins)
2:45pm, Qualifying – Race 29 (30 mins)
5:00pm, Top Ten Shootout – Race 29 (30 mins)

Sunday 13 September

10:15am, Warm-up (20 mins)
1:45pm, Race 29 (147 laps/500km)

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