Mark Skaife has rolled out his latest HRT car with great results today, topping the timꦚes on the𒐪 opening day of practice for the Betta Electrical Sandown 500.

Skaife's quickest lap late in the day was just five hundredths quicker than John Bowe in an OzEmail Falcon, and was backed up with the sixth fasꦍtest time by cওo-driver Todd Kelly.

"It is a great debut for the new car, to wheel a new car out of the truck and go that well is great," Skaife said. "We made a great deal of progress that session, it is responding well to changes, and we were on old tyres for t🐟he whole of it.

"I'd say no-one was cruising around with their arm on the window, so I🍸 think it is looking good."

John Bowe was a little more circ𒁃umspect, urging people to remember that it is only Friday.

"It i𝔉s only Friday, so it doesn't really matter, but it is good so far," Bowe said, happy that the team chose to run his car here rather than Brad Jones normal #21. "We tested both cars at Winton and we both liked the black one better, so we decided to run it."

Paul Radisich made a late chargꦜe into fourth spot, setting his quickest time after the chequered flag closed the session. Radisich said his team was making a good fist of finding a balance between firmness for grip and softness to ride the bumps.

"You try to soften up the car a little to deal with the bumps, but it is allꦑ about the handling compromise with firmness for grip. It is a bumpy track," he said.

Co-driver Rickard Rydell from Sweden said he is coming to gripܫs with the Falcon, which he said is very different from the Volvo he races in💫 Europe.

"The biggest difference is in the cars, there 𓄧is a lot of power and no grip, it is not really what I am used to," he said. "It is the gearchange and braking I need to work on."

The resurgent Paul Morris was fourth, and confident he and John Faulkner can continue his recent form and challenge for the race 🧔win on Sunday.

"This new car is really good, it responds to changes," Morris said. "We've had two or three test days with it, but we get the biggest gains at the circuits. There's no point in us being conservative at this point in time, the⛦ Chaꦑmpionship is not part of the equation so we are just out for the win."

Fifth fastest was Marcos Ambrose in the #4 Caltex Havoline Pirtek Falc🏅oꦗn he is sharing with Championship leader Marcos Ambrose.

"We have slightly different driving styles and we are just trying to find a compromise," Ambrose said. "We look to making the car comfort🉐able first, and then we go for speed."

Ingall was more confident with the speed of his new car, predicting that once qualifying starts he and Ambrose will be the pace setters. "We are pretty comfortable with the car, we haven't chased a time yet, we haven't even broken into a sweat. Jus🀅t wait for qualifying𒈔!"

The Sandown 500 is the first of the two driver endurance races for ꧃the s🔯eason, and is returning to the calendar after a four year absence. Tomorrow's action sees qualifying and a Top 10 Shootout.