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Targett tops opening session as entire field starts Bathurst practice
PORSCHE young-gun Oscar Targett has set the early pace in the opening practice session for the 2025 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour.
The first session of the event saw all 72 cars take to the track, making it the largest in event history, while the session also ran without a red flag interruption.
Targett’s flyer came late in the slightly-shortened 50-minute session to place the BMW M4 he shares with Karl Begg and Robert Gooley to the top with a 2m24.4496s.
That bumped the Simon Hodges / Jayden Ojeda / George Miedecke back to second position with the defending champions starting their quest for a rare Bathurst three-peat in style.
Michael, Hayden Auld and Tyler Everingham were third while Cameron Crick and Dean Campbell ended opening practice fourth.
Tyler Mecklem and Hadrian Morall topped A2 aboard their Ford Mustang, ending the session fifth outright, with the Zak Best / Chris Delfsma Mustang seventh overall and second in class.
Other cars in the outright top ten included Beric Lynton, Tim Leahey and Will Davison (6th), Grant Johnson, Amar Sharma and Jack LeBrocq (8th), Tom McLennan and David Russell in 9th and the HSV GTS of Brock Giblin and Brandon Madden in 10th.
The brand-new Game Over Chevrolet Camaro ended the session 17th outright and sixth in class in a trouble-free first hitout for a brand-new car.
The Robert Godfrey / Mike Sheargold / Alex Bryden Mercedes-AMG A45 topped class A2 and ended the session 18th outright, with the Bathurst-based Inwood trio second in class and 20th overall.
Aaron Zerefos, John Fitzgerald and Brent Edwards topped B1 aboard their BMW, while the B2 pace was set by the Brent Howard, Adam Gosling and Tim Wolfe M3.
Local heroes Trevor and James Keene from Orange set the pace in Class C aboard their VW Golf R while late additions to the field – the #500 Toyota 86 GTs driven by Alice Buckley, Tyler Cheney and Hayden Hume was the benchmark in the super competitive Class D – and 35th outright.
Andrew Jackman, Carter Fox and Adam Brewer topped Class E aboard their Mazda 3, finishing a strong 56th outright.
All 72 cars completed at least one lap in the session though timing issues ensured the results are one car short of the full field.
The second one-hour Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour session starts at 4:30pm local time.