Ford’s Chaz Mostert has posted the quickest practice lap at Townsville’s Supercars meet, giving Prodrive Racing Australia a major boost.

Mostert’s lap of one minute and 12.2648 seconds was little more than a tenth of a second outside Jamie Whincup’s record.

Mostert’s teammate Mark Winterbottom was fourth quickest, in a welcome return to form for the team which has fallen behind DJR Team Penske and Red Bull Racing this season.

Penske star Scott McLaughlin was second quickest in Friday’s action at Reid Park street circuit, ahead of RBR’s Shane van Gisbergen, who spun after a rare mistake later in the session.

Van Gisbergen’s Red Bull Racing teammate Jamie Whincup rounded out the top five.

McLauglin’s teammate and series leader Fabian Coulthard had a tough session, posting the 18th quickest lap.

Practice came to a halt with six minutes remaining after Erebus Motorsport driver Dale Wood stopped on the second turn.

After the resumption Mostert sizzled, with McLaughlin and van Gisbergen also eclipsing the mark set by Winterbottom earlier in the session.

Earlier on Friday, Wood’s teammate David Reynolds topped the timesheets in the opening practice session before finishing sixth in the second.

Qualifying for Saturday’s 200km race kicks off at 12.30pm