Gen3 is underway in Supercars with New Zealand drivers Shane van Gisbergen and Andre Heimgartner clocking the fastest times in the first two Newcastle 500 practice sessions.
Plenty of anticipation surrounded the new Gen3 Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaro's as they finally graced the streets of Newcastle on Friday.
Heimgartner showed serious pace to end a tentative practice one by all drivers the fastest, before van Gisbergen improved on his compatriot's time by two tenths of a second later in the day to lead the second session.
All drivers showed activity in their narrower cockpits with Friday's practice sessions shaping effectively as another testing day for teams.
Cockpits are smaller in the two-door sports cars, leaving peripheral visibility limited and drivers heightened to their surrounds.
On the track, the braking area of turn two was an issue early on with several cars going down the run-off.
Not only are drivers managing rebuilt setups, but they are also adjusting to Newcastle's narrow streets in their first action around the circuit since 2019.
But the field is speeding up.
Heimgartner was the sole driver under one minute 12 seconds in practice one before fourth others joined him in practice two with van Gisbergen the benchmark.
The 25-strong grid has one more Friday practice session at 3.50pm AEDT before the real business begins with qualifying early on Saturday 10.15am AEDT.
