News
Returning Brook makes early impression
Tim Brook has emphatically topped the timesheets in both National Trans Am Series Friday practice sessions despite spending 12 months away from the category.
Brook was wasting no time making an impression in his series return, topping the Practice 1 timesheet ahead of the All American Driveline’s Ben Grice in what was his first official run behind the wheel of the Total Parts Plus Dodge Challenger.
Series leader, James Moffat was a further second back in the timings behind Grice’s Mustang, but was able to get the upper hand on his teammate and title rival, Lochie Dalton – who finished half a second behind Moffat in seventh place.
The first session of the weekend wasn’t drama free – with a red flag being waived late in the session after Pioneer DJ’s Elliot Barbour went off at turn three.
Only a couple of hours later, Brook proved his opening practice form was no fluke, once again leading the session and stamping his name as the early favourite to take pole position on Saturday morning.
It was an impressive outing for Sydney Property Care GRM’s Edan Thornburrow, who finished a tenth of a second behind Brook in second.
The young, up-and-coming driver looked rapid around the paperclip with his second place coming off the back of a fourth-place finish earlier on in the day.
Moffat would make it back-to-back top-three finishes behind Thornburrow, but was this time only two-tenths of a second behind the leading Brook.
After his incident in Practice 1, Barbour would recover nicely to take fourth on his second attempt, edging out Elliot Cleary in fifth.
One driver who will be looking to improve on the day’s action will be Dalton. While his expectations may have slightly risen after dominating last round at Winton, he remains behind Moffat in the first two sessions and will need to find some more pace if he wishes to walk away from Queensland with the series lead.
Cody Gillis will also be desperate to find some extra pace, The Racing Academy entry finished the day with a pair of ninth place finishes after also having a solid round at Winton last time out.
The returning James Simpson will have some work to do if he wants to challenge for the top 10 in qualifying Saturday morning, unable to make an impact thus far in his Dodge Challenger – but is certain to gain more confidence throughout the weekend after not being able to compete since AWC Race Tasmania.
The National Trans Am Series will return on Saturday morning for the all-important qualifying session, before taking the track for the first of their four races later in the afternoon.