Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Matt Payne has set a sparkling tone for a season-defining weekend, with a blistering lap ahead of the opening Supercars race of the Sandown 500.
The Grove Racing star clocked the fastest lap of one minute 8.5014 seconds across Friday’s two 25-minute practice sessions, ahead of Saturday’s 79-lap, 250km race at Sandown International Motor Raceway.
The New Zealander knows two strong results in Melbourne will all but ensure he is part of the grand final in Adelaide.
The Sandown 500 is the penultimate round of the Supercars finals series, with seven drivers in with a chance of winning the championship heading into this weekend, but only four will remain after the chequered flag falls.
The winners of Saturday’s and Sunday’s 250km races will book their tickets to the grand final, regardless of their standing in the top seven.
Payne is currently first, and only has to avoid being among the bottom three drivers who fail to win one of the races, who are eliminated from securing the title.
One of those in a precarious position is fourth-ranked Chaz Mostert, who finished a disappointing 20th in the second session, after coming to Melbourne fresh off a stellar Gold Coast 500 campaign.
The reigning Supercars champion was battling through gearbox issues, but he was well off the pace, with the next closest finalist, Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters, in 12th.
Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Broc Feeney was second-fastest on Friday, with non-finalist Cooper Murray third.
The seventh-ranked Anton De Pasquale missed a large chunk of qualifying but rallied to finish seventh, while Will Brown and Bathurst 1000 winner Brodie Kostecki were ninth and 10th, respectively.
Premi Air Racing’s non-finalist Jayden Ojeda topped the first session in one minute 8.798 seconds, beating out Kostecki and Tickford’s Thomas Randle.
Although practice doesn’t count for points, it is the only time drivers get a feel for the course and the state of their cars ahead of qualifying for Race 33 on Saturday morning.
