
Shockwave Signs Motorsport continue perfect Mountain run.
The perfect run continued for Shockwave Signs Motorsport on Day 2 of the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour, with Jimmy Vernon and Mark Caine securing top honours in Class D on qualifying day at Mount Panorama.
The discussion in the garage prior to practice was about which driver would qualify. The head of the operation, John Vernon, said that the driver with the fastest time after practice would go onto qualify the car later in the day.
On the opening day, Mark Caine was the faster driver, but in the early moments of day 2, Vernon restored order, with a blistering lap of 2:39.609.
It was a time that stunned most of the garage. Caine and Vernon both believed that a 2:41 was achievable given their time from Friday, so they were understandably delighted to punch out a 2:39.
Vernon spent the opening day getting familiar with the track in this Toyota 86 GTS, which is having its first run on Mount Panorama this weekend, and with that time, he proved that he was not only comfortable, but well and truly up to speed.
The scary thought for the opposition to ponder come qualifying, was that the time posted by Vernon in the interrupted morning practice, came on old tyres.
With his exceptional time in Practice, Vernon was given the honour of qualifying the car for Sunday’s race.
The plan for the 30-minute session was simple – get out, bank a lap and then save the car for Sunday.
Vernon was confident that the car had a 2:38 in it, but that didn’t eventuate, as the 2016 MoComm Cup champion got caught behind Bathurst local Blake Aubin on his flying lap.
Following the Renault had little to no impact on the #37, as Vernon clocked a 2:39.921, and secured top spot in Class D by 1.481 seconds.
Vernon spent the rest of the session calculating his transit time from pit-entry to pit-exit, and the rest of the afternoon watching his team undertake pit-stop practice.
Mark Caine had very little time in the car on Day 2. The 43-year old drove the opening laps of practice 3, and no more. He managed to clock a 2:45.749 on his only flying lap, but remains happy with the car, and chomping at the bit to get behind the wheel tomorrow.
While they’ll start as favourites in Class D, the pair consider the Triple Zero Racing Toyota 86 of Chris Reeves and Chris Sutton as key competition in the battle for class honours, and are confident that they can maintain a fast race pace across the 6 Hours. While it won’t be the 2:39’s we saw today, they’re hopeful of consistent 2:41’s and 2:42’s across the course of the day.
Results from Practice 3 and Qualifying are below, and we remind you that you can follow live timing, and stream ALL six hours of tomorrow’s race through the Bathurst 6 Hour website. Commentary will come from Richard Craill and Brian Van De Wakker.
If you miss the livestream, Speedweek will showcase the event, with a 2-Hour highlights package next Sunday afternoon from 1pm on SBS and SBS HD.
2017 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour | Saturday | ||||
Shockwave Signs Motorsport | Toyota 86 GTS | Class D | #37. Jimmy Vernon/Mark Caine | |||
Session | Outright Position | Class Position | Jimmy Vernon | Mark Caine |
Practice 3 | 33rd | 1st | 2:39.609 | 2:45.749 |
Qualifying | 40th | 1st | 2:39.921 | No Time |
2017 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour | Practice 3 | Class D Result
Outright | In Class | Number | Drivers | Car | Time |
33rd | 1st | 37 | Jimmy Vernon/Mark Caine | Toyota 86 GTS | 2:39.609 |
40th | 2nd | 3 | Chris Reeves/Chris Sutton | Toyota 86 GTS | 2:43.085 |
41st | 3rd | 47 | David Baker/Matthew Windsor | Honda Integra | 2:43.108 |
43rd | 4th | 39 | David Bailey/Matt Thewlis | Toyota 86 GTS | 2:43.175 |
45th | 5th | 86 | Grant Phillips/Michele Abbate | Toyota 86 GTS | 2:44.601 |
46th | 6th | 85 | Declan Kirkham/Philip Kirkham/Aaron Cameron | Mazda MX6 | 2:44.687 |
48th | 7th | 52 | Graeme Heath/Joshua Heath | Toyota 86 GTS | 2:45.168 |
50th | 8th | 98 | Daniel Williams/Kurt Metcalf/Daniel Sugden | Toyota Camry | 2:46.296 |
52nd | 9th | 49 | Trent Grubel/David Crowe | Toyota 86 GTS | 2:46.935 |
53rd | 10th | 50 | Trevor Keene/James Keene/Dominic Martens | Mini Cooper | 2:47.471 |
56th | 11th | 33 | Peter Foote/Will Cauchi | Nissan Pulsar | 2:52.211 |
57th | 12th | 55 | Michael Hopp/Peter Sortwell/Steven Pittman | Eunos 30X | 3:03.921 |
2017 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour | Qualifying | Class D Result [Provisional]
Outright | In Class | Number | Drivers | Car | Time |
40th | 1st | 37 | Jimmy Vernon/Mark Caine | Toyota 86 GTS | 2:39.921 |
46th | 2nd | 49 | Trent Grubel/David Crowe | Toyota 86 GTS | 2:41.402 |
47th | 3rd | 3 | Chris Reeves/Chris Sutton | Toyota 86 GTS | 2:42.222 |
48th | 4th | 52 | Graeme Heath/Joshua Heath | Toyota 86 GTS | 2:42.439 |
51st | 5th | 50 | Trevor Keene/James Keene/Dominic Martens | Mini Cooper | 2:43.949 |
52nd | 6th | 47 | David Baker/Matthew Windsor | Honda Integra | 2:43.990 |
53rd | 7th | 39 | David Bailey/Matt Thewlis | Toyota 86 GTS | 2:44.213 |
55th | 8th | 85 | Declan Kirkham/Philip Kirkham/Aaron Cameron | Mazda MX6 | 2:45.701 |
56th | 9th | 86 | Grant Phillips/Michele Abbate | Toyota 86 GTS | 2:46.275 |
58th | 10th | 98 | Daniel Williams/Kurt Metcalf/Daniel Sugden | Toyota Camry | 2;48.537 |
59th | 11th | 33 | Peter Foote/Will Cauchi | Nissan Pulsar | 2:54.336 |
60th | 12th | 55 | Michael Hopp/Peter Sortwell/Steven Pittman | Eunos 30X | 2:55.672 |
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