Ford's V8 Supercar championship leader Mark Winterbottom peeled off a late rocket for the fastest lap in today's practice for round six of the series at Hidden Valley Raceway today.
Winterbottom struck a blow with just minutes remaining in the session to knock Holden's Mark Skaife off the top of the timesheets ahead of qualifying tomorrow.
The Ford Performance Racing driver clocked a 1minute 9.7854second lap to edge out Skaife (1:09.7876) by just over two-thousandths of a second.
Another Holden driver, Lee Holdsworth, was third fastest in 1:09.8323.
Winterbottom's nearest rival for the championship, defending champion Garth Tander, was fourth fastest in his Holden in 1:09.8880.
The first of three races this weekend will be held tomorrow, with races two and three scheduled for Sunday.
Winterbottom leads the series from Tander, with Ford's Jamie Whincup third and Holden's Rick Kelly fourth.
Results of opening practice for round six at Hidden Valley Raceway (circuit: 2.9km):
1. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 1 minute 9.7854 seconds;
2. Mark Skaife (Holden) 1:09.7876
3. Lee Holdsworth (Holden) 1:09.8323
4. Garth Tander (Holden) 1:09.8880
5. Will Davison (Ford) 1:09.9013
6. Jamie Whincup (Holden) 1:09.9384
7. Steven Richards (Ford) 1:09.9393
8. Craig Lowndes (Ford) 1:09.9586
9. James Courtney (Ford) 1:10.0145
10. Todd Kelly (Holden) 1:10.0547.