New Zealand turned on a perfect day for Round 3 of the International V8 Supercars Championship with blue skies and warm sun, as Jim Beam Racing started their ITM 400 campaign with four practice sessions taking place on the challenging street circuit.
As in previous rounds, the first two sessions were dedicated to Rookies and the Lower 50% of drivers in the Championship.
Dean Fiore, in car #12 for Jim Beam Racing, headed out onto the track for Practice Part 1 and 2, using old tyres, as is standard for Jim Beam Racing during practice.
Practice 1 went by without incident, with Fiore coming back to the garage with a straight car, 8th quickest.
Despite a disjointed Practice 2, with two Red Flags, Dean Fiore’s Devil’s Cut Falcon was strong again in this second session, ending in 6th.
As both of the Jim Beam Racing cars (and the rest of the field) rolled out for Practice 3, the Team chose again to run old hard tyres, saving the allocation of green softs and focussing on set-up.
In this afternoon’s final session, the Team opted to use part of their allocated Dunlop Sprint (soft) tyres to review the performance of the cars.
With both Jim Beam Racing cars coming home inside the top 20 on the soft tyres, with Fiore in 15th and Steve Johnson in the Jim Beam Honey Falcon in 19th, gave the Team confidence heading into the Qualifying session tomorrow morning.
The International V8 Supercars ITM 400 in Hamilton resumes at 1100 (local time) tomorrow with Qualifying, Top 10 Shoot Out and Race 5 of the Championship.
As in previous rounds, the first two sessions were dedicated to Rookies and the Lower 50% of drivers in the Championship.
Dean Fiore, in car #12 for Jim Beam Racing, headed out onto the track for Practice Part 1 and 2, using old tyres, as is standard for Jim Beam Racing during practice.
Practice 1 went by without incident, with Fiore coming back to the garage with a straight car, 8th quickest.
Despite a disjointed Practice 2, with two Red Flags, Dean Fiore’s Devil’s Cut Falcon was strong again in this second session, ending in 6th.
As both of the Jim Beam Racing cars (and the rest of the field) rolled out for Practice 3, the Team chose again to run old hard tyres, saving the allocation of green softs and focussing on set-up.
In this afternoon’s final session, the Team opted to use part of their allocated Dunlop Sprint (soft) tyres to review the performance of the cars.
With both Jim Beam Racing cars coming home inside the top 20 on the soft tyres, with Fiore in 15th and Steve Johnson in the Jim Beam Honey Falcon in 19th, gave the Team confidence heading into the Qualifying session tomorrow morning.
The International V8 Supercars ITM 400 in Hamilton resumes at 1100 (local time) tomorrow with Qualifying, Top 10 Shoot Out and Race 5 of the Championship.