Whincup/Dumbrell sweep all four practice sessions at Gold Coast 600 as crash leaves Bright in doubt
TEAM BOC's Gold Coast 600 weekend has been thrown into
disarray after co-driver Andrew Jones crashed Jason Bright's car
heavily, on a practice day where Jamie Whincup and Red Bull were
peerless.
V8 Supercars
October 21, 201
The crash happened at the exit of the track's first chicane
early in the day's third practice session, the BOC-backed Commodore
slamming nose first into a tyre wall.
Jones wasn't injured but
took fault for the crash, admitting he bounced the car over too much of
the kerb at the entry of the chicane.
"We're told not to use any
kerb and we'd be monitored closely," Jones said, "[but] the co-drivers
are absolutely murdering the thing.
"I arrived there the first time using a lot of kerb and it didn’t land as nicely as I hoped..."
The
impact is serious enough to have forced the team into making emergency
repairs, planning to repair the car on a jig at a chassis specialist at
Yatala, north of the circuit.
With no guarantees the car will be
repaired in time for qualifying and racing tomorrow, the incident may
have dashed Bright and Jones' already slim Enduro Cup hopes.
The top of the time-sheets had a familiar look across all four
sessions, Red Bull's No.1 Commodore posting the fastest lap regardless
of whether it was Whincup or co-driver Paul Dumbrell at the wheel.
A last-lap flyer from Whincup ensured a perfect sweep of the day, ahead of Holden Racing Team's James Courtney.
Salvaging
a bad day for Brad Jones Racing, David Wall was third fastest in the
final session, ahead of Bottle-O Racing's David Reynolds and Norton
Hornets Nissan driver Michael Caruso.
The day ended poorly for
Bathurst winner Mark Winterbottom, the newly-re-signed Ford pilot
brushing his Falcon against a concrete wall late in the session, ending
it down in 22nd.
Fellow title contender Craig Lowndes also had a rough day, cracking the top ten just once.
The
cars will next hit the track on Saturday for qualifying and the Top Ten
Shootout, ahead of the first of two 300 kilometer-long races.
