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Bargwanna continues where he left off
Jude Bargwanna has continued his winning ways from Phillip Island, taking out both Kumho V8 Touring Car Series practice sessions at the Winton Raceway in challenging conditions.
Undertaking the tight and twisty rural circuit for the first time this season in his Ford Falcon FG, the third-generation racing Bargwanna finished three-tenths of a second ahead of Notlaw Racing’s Jamie Tilley in practice one, while Jim Pollicina rounded out the top three.
Due to heavy rainfall in the lead up to the week, the track continued to be wet and slippery throughout the opening session – forcing minimal mistakes from each driver.
As the track started to dry in the afternoon sun, the 18-year-old was able to muster the fastest time of the day to come within a second of a second of the category’s 2016 Winton lap record.
Finishing the second session in second place was Tilley, while ANT Racing’s Tony Evangelou found his way into the top three as well.
Bargwanna is pleased to lead both sessions of the day, crediting previous experiences to his success.
“It’s good to be at the front again, the team have the setup for the car dialed in,” Bargwanna said.
“The car was already on the pace from the get-go and now it’s just about fine tuning my own driving skills.
“I’ve raced probably four or five times in Formula Ford here, and I have driven an Erebus Supercar as well so I have a little bit of experience here in the V8 already.”
The New South Welshman knows he has some talent and experience behind him, and has spent time working on his craft during the break.
“I expect Jim Pollicina and Jamie Tilley to be pushing me all weekend long, so I’m looking forward to battling with them.
“Now I just need to manage the gap, have a crack at taking that lap record and just keep pushing myself and getting the most out of it.
“I recently spent a couple of days at the Norwell Motorplex to work hard on all those little things that could come into place come race time.
“We still have a fair way to go.”
The Kumho V8 Touring Car Series will take the track at 9:55am AEST Saturday morning for Qualifying, before taking on their first of two races later on in the afternoon.
Saturday’s coverage on Stan Sport will take place from 11:00am to 5:00pm AEST, while 9Gem will showcase the series live and free from 2pm AEST.