Ellery Bathurst preview

The Super Cheap Auto combination of Steve Ellery and Geoff Brabham had their first taste of the newly resurfaced Bathurst track during V8 Supercar practice in changeable weather conditions today.

The changeable session set the scene for what drivers should expect this weekend and Ellery predicts that the fast practice times today means drivers will slash the qualifying record of 2:09.5146 set by Mark Larkham in 1999.

"You never see the lap times that have been set today on a Thursday and it's a safe prediction to say that if its dry, qualifying times will come down further," Ellery explained.

"The new track is smooth and even though it felt a lot more slippery out there than past years, it even improved within that one session. As more rubber goes down, the grip will get better and I wouldn't be surprised to see the times drop dramatically."

Ellery and Brabham completed 21 laps during the hour and a half session, Ellery stepping out of the car part way through the session to give Brabham valuable laps on the track. He is confident he will match the qualifying pace tomorrow and says his 15th fastest lap time today isn't an indication of the pace potential of the car.

"We just took it pretty easy today, played with set up and gave Geoff some time in the car. I hopped out of the car in sixth and know there's a lot more time in the car, so I'm not worried about our position today," Ellery said.

<pre> PRACTICE TIMES - V8 SUPERCAR 1000, BATHURST THURSDAY 1. Skaife/Longhurst Holden 2:10.30 2. Seton/Richards Ford 2:11.18 3. Bowe/Wills Ford 2:11.49 4. Perkins/Ingall Holden 2:11.82 5. Kelly/Murphy Holden 2:12.19 6. Johnson/Radisich Ford 2:12.19 7. Tander/Bargwanna Holden 2:12.29 8. McLean/Ritter Ford 2:12.72 9. Ambrose/Wakefield Ford 2:12.77 10. Bright/Mezera Holden 2:12.81 12. Ellery/Brabham Ford 2:3.58