V8 Supercars championship leader Jamie Whincup has laid down a marker to his rivals after dominating practice on Friday at the Gold Coast 600.

The Holden ace, pipped by Ford’s Mark Winterbottom in the Bathurst 1000 two weeks ago, clocked the fastest time of the day on Friday with a one minute, 10.2757 second lap.

It capped a perfect day for the Red Bull Racing pilot and co-driver Paul Dumbrell, with the pair finishing top of the timesheets in all four practice sessions at the Surfers Paradise street circuit.

Holden’s James Courtney was the second-fastest on the day with a 1:10.4539 while another Holden, David Wall’s Wilson Security Commodore, came in third quickest with a 1:10.6414.

Whincup’s main championship rival Craig Lowndes had a tough finish to the day with a punctured tyre and had to settle for the 18th-fastest time of the day.

Winterbottom could only finish 22nd on the timesheets while his Ford teammate Will Davison was sixth-fastest.

Holden’s Jason Bright was forced to sit out the day’s final session after his co-driver Andrew Jones hit a wall during practice three.

The collision caused severe damage to the Brad Jones Racing Commodore, with former Bathurst winner Bright unsure if the car will be repaired in time for Saturday’s 300km race.

The action continues on Saturday with qualifying in the morning before the race in the afternoon.