After finishing fourth fastest in the opening free practice session for this weekend's Clipsal 500, Scott McLaughlin threw down the gauntlet to his fellow racers by setting the fastest time of the second and final free practice session of the day.
Scott put his DJR Penske Ford into the 1:19's , the first driver to go into the 19's and he further improved his time toward the end of the 40 minute session.
Rick Kelly also went into the 1:19's to finish second to McLaughlin after a tough start to the session that saw him chipped for kerb hopping.
“I'm surprised with where we are because I didn't think I did a good job, it was a bit of a shaky lap,' he explained. “We're still learning how to warm these tyres up, when the fronts are ready to go and when the rears fall off.”
After finishing second in the opening session, 2016 champion Shane van Gisbergen finished the second session third fastest overall after a mid-lap spin at turn 7. Teammate Jamie Whincup was fourth fastest followed by Todd Kelly in fifth.
Once again Craig Lowndes was down in 21st place, however the Team Vortex driver is not too concerned ahead of this afternoon's qualifying session.
“The car feels good, we got through our program and made our adjustments. Everything's going really well at the moment,” he said.
Drivers will return to the track later this afternoon for the 20 minute qualifying session.
