Nick Percat hopes his Supercars practice domination will spur Brad Jones Racing to more home-track success as conditions improve at Winton.
Heavy rain over the track in Victoria's northeast made things tough for drivers on Friday's opening day of the meet.
Percat was delighted he could negotiate the wet, mid DJR Team Penske and Triple Eight Racing's strong start to the series.
"I think everyone in car #8 needs a morale boost," Percat said.
"Even though it's only practice two, when I crossed the line, there was a little fist pump because it's hard to be at the top for any session at this level.
"I think for everyone with car eight and BJR, it's a bit of a relief just to get a decent result."
Treacherous conditions greeted drivers in the day's first session.
But as the weather improved during the second practice, so did the times, with Percat's flying lap of one minute and 28.1050 seconds topping the day.
There was daylight to second-placed Ford star Scott McLaughlin whose final lap was 1.1009 second slower than Percat.
"As much as we take out of today, I think it's not a bad start," McLaughlin said.
Dave Reynolds finished third, while McLaughlin's DJR Team Penske teammate and championship leader Fabian Coulthard was fourth, with Prodrive Racing Australia's Cameron Waters rounding out the top five.
Winton was a happy hunting ground last year for BJR, with Tim Slade claiming his maiden Supercars success with back-to-back wins.
"The whole team's been excited to get back here since they finished last year doing donuts on the grass," Percat said.
In capped an action-packed day for Percat, who lost control during the first session and speared into the driver's side door of fellow Holden pilot Scott Pye.
McLaughlin was fastest in that practice but, with puddles increasingly building on the track, the time was more than 15 seconds slower than Percat's effort.
Despite a drier track in the second session, there were three red flags, with Tim Blanchard and wildcards Macauley Jones and Shae Davies getting bogged.
They were part of a much-larger group who found their way off the track during the day.
Showers are expected to clear on Saturday morning in time for the afternoon's opening race and Sunday's forecast is for good conditions.
Share
