Van Gisbergen claims early bragging rights in Perth
Van Gisbergen said that despite his lap record, he was frustrated with his car today.
"It was a tough day for us always is around here," he said.
"You are trying to feel changes and there is just zero grip. You have to judge where the grip is so it’s pretty tough as a driver but probably tougher for the engineers because there’s not much feedback we can give them because we just can’t feel anything.
The defending champion said he’s hoping for strong results over the weekend to get his season back on track after poor results in Tasmania and Phillip Island.
"Im pretty frustrated with my year so far," Van Gisbergen said.
"Apart from Adelaide the other rounds have been pretty crazy. Stupid penalties at Phillip Island and the crazy race at Tassie which was nobody’s fault.
"I’m pretty frustrated and feel disappointed but we are second so it’s not all bad but it shows we have high standards from last year.
"We just have to put it together and be consistent again because that was our strength in the championship last year."
The Holden ace finished the second practice session with the quickest lap time ahead of new championship points leader Fabian Coulthard, and Red Bull Holden Racing teammate Jamie Whincup.
Coulthard spent today with team owner and international motorsport legend Roger Penske who is in Perth for this weekend’s SuperSprint.
"I know it’s early days but to be leading the championship and have Roger come to town is perfect timing," Coulthard said.
"He is rapt with how things are going and the progress the team is making but we have a long way to go. Its Only early in championship but it’s nice to have a competitive car."
Homegrown hero Garth Tander was the quickest in practice one but fell off the pace with the Red Bull and Shell V-Power Racing teams in practice two.
Another West Australian product, 16-year old Alex Rullo, showed that he won’t be a pushover after going door-to-door with Whincup during this afternoon’s practice at Barbagallo Raceway.
Rullo’s teammate for this weekend Matt Brabham, grandson of Formula 1 legend Sir Jack Brabham will head into tomorrow’s qualifying session confident after his first day in a Supercar ended without incident.
There will be a final practice session tomorrow morning before qualifying begins. In 2016 less than half a second separated the top 21 drivers in qualifying. Drivers who have claimed pole position have won just six out of the last 19 races at Barbagallo Raceway.
Qualifying for race one will begin at 11:55am WST (1:55pm AEST) tomorrow with the first race to be held Saturday afternoon at 4:45pm AEST (2:45pm WST) and qualifying and the second race held on Sunday.
Practice 2 Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
| 1 | Shane van Gisbergen | Red Bull Holden Racing Aust | Holden Commodore VF | 00:54.7762 | 0.0000 |
| 2 | Fabian Coulthard | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Ford Falcon FG/X | 00:54.7906 | 0.0144 |
| 3 | Jamie Whincup | Red Bull Holden Racing Aust | Holden Commodore VF | 00:55.0456 | 0.2695 |
| 4 | Mark Winterbottom | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Ford Falcon FG/X | 00:55.0921 | 0.3159 |
| 5 | Chaz Mostert | Supercheap Auto Racing | Ford Falcon FG/X | 00:55.1330 | 0.3568 |
| 6 | Craig Lowndes | TeamVortex | Holden Commodore VF | 00:55.2728 | 0.4966 |
| 7 | Cameron Waters | Monster Energy Racing | Ford Falcon FG/X | 00:55.2952 | 0.519 |
| 8 | Will Davison | TEKNO Woodstock Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 00:55.2969 | 0.5207 |
| 9 | Todd Kelly | carsales Racing | Nissan Altima | 00:55.3588 | 0.5826 |
| 10 | Nick Percat | BIANTE 1:1 | Holden Commodore VF | 00:55.4570 | 0.6808 |
| 11 | Jason Bright | MEGA Racing | Ford Falcon FG/X | 00:55.4594 | 0.6832 |
| 12 | Scott McLaughlin | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Ford Falcon FG/X | 00:55.4697 | 0.6935 |
| 13 | David Reynolds | Erebus Penrite Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 00:55.4764 | 0.7002 |
| 14 | Lee Holdsworth | Preston Hire Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 00:55.5437 | 0.7675 |
| 15 | Tim Slade | Freightliner Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 00:55.6524 | 0.8762 |
| 16 | Tim Blanchard | Team CoolDrive | Holden Commodore VF | 00:55.7012 | 0.925 |
| 17 | James Moffat | Wilson Security Racing GRM | Holden Commodore VF | 00:55.7573 | 0.9811 |
| 18 | Scott Pye | Mobil 1 HSV Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 00:55.8056 | 1.0294 |
| 19 | Garth Tander | Wilson Security Racing GRM | Holden Commodore VF | 00:55.8181 | 1.0419 |
| 20 | Simona De Silvestro | Team Harvey Norman | Nissan Altima | 00:55.9857 | 1.2095 |
| 21 | James Courtney | Mobil 1 HSV Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 00:55.9857 | 1.2095 |
| 22 | Rick Kelly | Sengled Racing | Nissan Altima | 00:56.1218 | 1.3456 |
| 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima | 00:56.2181 | 1.4419 |
| 24 | Alex Rullo | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | Holden Commodore VF | 00:56.4797 | 1.7035 |
| 25 | Dale Wood | Erebus GB Galvanizing Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 00:56.5990 | 1.8228 |
| 26 | Matthew Brabham | Repair Management Aust Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 00:58.0621 | 3.286 |