> Result: Practice 5
Dries Vanthoor topped a kangaroo-interrupted final practice this morning at Bathurst where separate incidents brought the hour-long session to an early conclusion.
The German set fastest time of the weekend – 2m03.4430s – moments before Oliver Jarvis and Daniel Serra crashed at different corners. The Bentley and Ferrari were both badly damaged and are unlikely to contest qualifying later today.
However, the biggest talking point will undoubtedly centre on a pair of kangaroos that halted practice almost before it had begun. The marsupials eventually hopped back into the bush but not before a train of cars tiptoed their way past heading up the mountain.
The session resumed after a 30-minute delay, and it was Marco Mapelli who initially topped the times after beating Shane van Gisbergen’s best from Thursday. The FFF Racing Lamborghini looked well set to remain there until Vanthoor’s late effort toppled the Huracan by 0.1s.
Kelvin van der Linde ensured two Team Valvoline Audis featured in the top-three, while Ben Barker helped Grove Motorsport and Porsche top the Pro/Am class in fourth overall.
Walkenhorst’s BMW and 59Racing’s McLaren completed the top-six ahead of GruppeM’s Mercedes-AMG, while Bentley’s #7 Continental GT3 made it seven different manufacturers in a top-10 covered by just over one second.
Back-to-back qualifying sessions from 12:40 will determine the 10 cars gunning for pole in this afternoon’s Pirelli Shootout. Watch all three sessions live here on IntercontinentalGTChallenge.com, the championship’s Facebook page and SRO’s GT World Youtube channel.