Nissan driver James Moffat has taken charge on a drying yet slippery track to set the fastest time in Friday’s final practice session for this weekend’s V8 Supercars round in Winton.
Moffat managed to clock a 1min 23.4785sec lap on a cold and gloomy day at the tight 3km circuit, outpacing the Fords of David Reynolds and young gun Chaz Mostert.
But a muddy outfield proved the undoing for a number of drivers, including Holden’s Scott Pye and Lee Holdsworth of Mercedes, whose afternoons were cut short when their spinning cars got bogged and had to be towed back to the pits – triggering two of five red-flags in the stop-start session.
Championship leader Jamie Whincup finished a lowly 17th, one spot behind his Red Bull Racing teammate Craig Lowndes.
The rain-affected track was no kinder to drivers in Friday’s opening practice session, which also was interrupted by five red-flag stoppages.
Veteran Russell Ingall topped the earlier timesheets but was almost 10 seconds off the second-session pace.
The third and final practice session begins at 9.30am (AEST) on Saturday, ahead of qualifying and the opening 60/60 super sprint race of the weekend.