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The Bathurst 1000 starts today with the V8 Supercars hitting the track for three practice sessions. Join The Roar for a live blog of the V8 Supercars from Mount Panorama at 11:05am AEDT.
Usually Thursday practice isn’t a significant day of the weekend.
For teams it is all about getting the setup right, getting the co-drivers acclimatised to the track, and not getting involved in an incident on the track.
Things are a little different this year.
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With the track being resurfaced at the end of 2013, times are expected to be smashed this weekend.
Just how much they will be broken by is the big question this weekend.
In V8 Supercar land, there are two records, which are looked at in detail by experts, drivers, teams and fans at Mt Panorama.
The first is the race record of 2:08.4651 done by Jamie Whincup in 2007. That record will become important when the race is conducted on Sunday.
The second is the V8 Supercar lap record of 2:06.801 which was done by Craig Lowndes in practice for the 2010 event.
This created national news after it eclipsed the ‘Lap of the Gods’ time set by Murphy in the top ten shoot-out in 2003, which will always stand alone as a pinnacle moment of this sport.
With the new surface at the track these times are expected to be broken this weekend. Everyone has had their say so far on how quick the V8 Supercars can go around the track.
Mark Winterbottom says they could do two minutes and five seconds around the track. Lee Holdsworth is a little more modest and says they could do a low 2:06 around Mt Panorama.
Some aren’t ruling out lower times than that and a two minute and four second lap isn’t impossible.
The other factor in all of this is the cars themselves.
Last year was the first time the Car of the Future cars competed in Bathurst. At most of the circuits the field has travelled to this season, they have done quicker times than what they did in 2013.
At the recent round in Sandown, Jamie Whincup set the fastest ever lap time at the circuit in a V8 Supercar.
The improvement of the cars over 12 months, and the new surface, could lead to quick times as early as practice 1.
If that happens this early into the weekend, every session will become important, as each driver tries to create history for themselves.
Today will see three sessions with the first one starting at 11:05am. The second session, which begins at 1:15pm, is exclusively for the co-drivers as they get valuable time in the car.
The final session, which begins at 3:10, is for all drivers and is the last chance of action for the day.
There is also plenty of practice in the other categories racing at the mountain this weekend.
The Dunlop Series, which has a 250 kilometre race on Saturday, has one practice session for the day.
The Aussie Racing Cars also have one session for the day in the morning.
The rest, which includes the Touring Car Masters, the Porsche Carrera Cup, and the V8 Utes, have two practice sessions today.
The Roar will provide updates of those categories throughout the day as well.
Today could be a big day in V8 Supercars.
It may only be practice, but it may be a record breaking day at the mountain as well. It will be a day of interest as records look set to tumble.
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