Team Vortex driver Craig Lowndes was the fastest Holden on track at the Sydney Motorsport Park on Friday with the sixth fastest time at the end of both free practice sessions.
The likeable Queenslander recorded the sixth best time of the day with a 1:29.423, as he fought to find some stronger qualifying form that will be needed to catch the Ford s in front of him in today's all important qualifying session.
We've had two practice sessions, the first one we opted to do a race run, which gave us a good indication for the afternoon," he said. "For us qualifying has been our Achilles heel. We still haven't got there yet, but this is a much more positive start to the weekend. The second one was obviously all about trying to get a balance, trying to get the new tyre to work, which has been our issue, but so far the car's been working well, I'm comfortable in the car."
Strong winds meant the conditions were very difficult to contend with, making the tricky, flowing Sydney Motorsport Park track even more complex.
"This circuit is really hard on the tyres, so you really only get one lap to set a time. Touch wood we can repeat that in qualifying, but all signs are we should be well in the top 10."
