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SANDOWN 500 - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 - PRACTICE

Fabian Coulthard & Tony D'Alberto - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Practice 1 – 13th (Fastest Lap: 1m10.0750s)
Practice 2 – 9th (Fastest Lap: 1m21.7940s – Coulthard)
Practice 3 – 1st (Fastest Lap: 1m20.9755s)

Scott McLaughlin & Alex Prémat - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Practice 1 – 17th (Fastest Lap: 1m10.1849s)
Practice 2 – 13th (Fastest Lap: 1m22.3691s - McLaughlin)
Practice 3 – 9th (Fastest Lap: 1m21.9407s)

Fabian Coulthard & Tony D’Alberto - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Recap: Tony D'Alberto did the majority of the running at Sandown today, driving in both Practice 1 and Practice 3. Practice 1 started dry, before the rain came down hard. It then stayed for the rest of the day. Coulthard drove in Practice 2, and had a slide late in the session that saw him contact the Turn 7 tyre wall. The crew repaired the car in very quick time, and D’Alberto was then able to set the fastest time in the wet at the end of Practice 3.

Coulthard Quote: "Great to see Tony go fastest, especially after the boys did such a good job repairing the car after Practice 2 to get it back out for Practice 3. We made some adjustments at the same time, and made the car a bit nicer, and Tony did a great job."

D'Alberto Quote: "The car was great, very impressive after the Practice 2 incident that the boys got it fixed and it was perfect. The steering was straight, everything was spot on. A real credit to them. I drove around getting used to the wet lines, we tried a few things throughout the session and ended up quickest."

Scott McLaughlin & Alex Prémat - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford

Recap: International co-driver Alex Prémat drove most in both Practice 1 and 3, the co-driver only sessions, with McLaughlin running in torrential rain in Practice 2. Having not had many miles in the car, today was used to give Prémat as much time to adjust to the car and conditions as possible. McLaughlin took a conservative approach throughout his run, preferring to bring the car back straight than take any unnecessary risks.

McLaughlin Quote: "Reasonable day, it was all about trying to limit the risk. I feel like we have a pretty decent car, it just wasn't the right conditions to push hard and put the car at risk. We'll have a big go tomorrow."

Premat Quote: "It was not a very easy day, we only really got three laps in dry conditions. The car felt quite nice in the dry, so I think we should be good for those conditions. In the wet we have a little bit of work to do, but it's only the first day. I think we will be good tomorrow."