Both Skaife and Tander spent much of the session fine-tuning their cars, but it wasn't until the final handful of minutes that they improved on new rubber. Tander was languishing in 22nd spot before a last-gasp lap vaulted him into eighth position, while title rival Jamie Whincup emphasised that it was not purely a Holden 'problem' after logging only the 14th best time.
The car was simply out of balance and we've got a lot of analysis overnight to find enough time to get into the top ten," the Vodafone driver admitted, "Qualifying is crucial, so we have a lot to learn about the new tyre here in a short time.
Holden racer Lee Holdsworth, twelfth fastest, said his GRM Valvoline VE 'still needed some changes to accommodate the tyre'.
"There doesn't seem to be a huge difference compared to Darwin, but I will be interested to see how it performs in much colder conditions when we get to our test track at Winton for the next round in a fortnight's time, he said.
Impressive again was the PCR Glenfords Ford driven by rising Kiwi star Fabian Coulthard, who topped the times during most of the session before slipping back to eleventh fastest. One reason though was his practice crash on Friday in Darwin, which ironically left him with one more set of fresher rubber than his rivals.
We are quick, even if I'm still battling to get the best possible exit out of turn two onto the back straight, he said, enthusiastic about his prospects.
The first dedicated half-hour session had given some endurance co-drivers an opportunity to gain laps, with non-championship regulars Steve Owen, Warren Luff, Paul Radisich, Craig Baird, David Besnard, Dean Canto and Jason Bargwanna all being prominent.
