A rare off day by championship leader Scott McLaughlin has opened the door for Ford’s Lee Holdsworth to go fastest in practice for this weekend’s Supercars event in New Zealand.
The Tickford Racing driver clocked a quickest lap of one minute and 01.6281 seconds at the 2.91km Pukekohe Park circuit on Friday to top the timesheets.
Holden’s Shane Van Gisbergen went second fastest on his hometown track with a 1:01.7758.
Holdsworth’s teammate Will Davison, who topped the timesheets in a rain-marred opening practice session on Friday morning, was third quickest with 1:01.7917.
McLaughlin, who is chasing a record-breaking 17th race win in 2019, could only post the seventh-fastest lap of the day as he completed just seven laps in the session.
The New Zealander will be hopeful of more laps in Saturday morning’s final practice as he aims to extend his mammoth 573-point lead in the championship standings.
His DJR Team Penske teammate Fabian Coulthard was the eighth-fastest driver on Friday.
McLaughlin’s nearest title challenger, Ford’s Chaz Mostert, also looks to have plenty of work to do after finishing 12th in practice.
The Auckland SuperSprint resumes on Saturday with a 70-lap, 200km race from 4.10pm (1410 AEST).
A second 200km race will be held on Sunday afternoon.