Stanaway quickest in dramatic rain-affected practice

Richie Stanaway has emerged quickest in a rain-affected Practice 4 at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500, as several cars ran off the road.

Stanaway put his Allan Moffat-inspired Penrite Ford in top spot, albeit by 0.0361s over Broc Feeney, who ran off the road three times.

Chaz Mostert, Will Davison and Bryce Fullwood rounded out the top five, with the quintet covered by 0.1219s after 40 minutes of running.

"It wasn't too bad, the forecast for tomorrow is dry so I wasn't taking too much risk. It's always nice to top a session, so I'm feeling good," Stanaway said.

On his wet weather prowess, he added: "I'm not sure what it is to be honest, I just go out and drive and the pace is always there so it's good. We're just going to have to keep an eye on the weather forecast for tomorrow.

"I'm obviously looking for a job next year, so putting it P1 is better than putting an ad on Craigslist."

Drivers and teams were greeted by driving rain on Saturday morning, with the likes of Feeney, Cam Waters, and Cameron Hill running off at Turn 10 in the opening minutes.

Feeney, who also bowled a wide at Turn 1, emerged as one the quickest cars in the wet, with Brodie Kostecki’s 1:15.8627s holding sway before teams shifted to pit stops and driver changes.

The slips and slides kept on coming; after taking over from Waters, James Moffat rotated the Monster Ford gently into the Turn 3 Armco barrier, while Dean Fiore saved a violent snap in Jaxon Evans' SCT Logistics Chevrolet exiting Turn 1.

James Courtney jumped to fourth with a 1:16.3869s at the midway point of the 40-minute session, albeit 0.5242s down on Kostecki’s benchmark. Blanchard Racing Team teammate Aaron Love also moved up to fifth, and jumped ahead of Courtney on his next lap.

Stanaway improved to seventh and went on with it, powering to the top with a 1:15.3818s to put nearly 0.5s on the field. Courtney also improved to second with a 1:15.5335s.

Down in 14th, Mostert went fastest in the first sector and vaulted to third with a 1:15.5672s.

Matt Payne (1:15.0800s) and Love (1:15.2733s) pressed on, before Kostecki moved to third with a 1:15.2886s, Golding to second with a 1:15.1454s, and Will Brown from 18th to seventh.

Kostecki was first into the 1:14s with a 1:14.9274s, which was blown out of the water by Feeney's 1:14.5271. For the second time after going to the top, Feeney sailed off at Turn 1.

Mostert jumped to second with a 1:14.7968s, and improved his own benchmark to a 1:14.5332s. Stanaway laid down a 1:14.4910s, which proved quickest of all after 40 frantic minutes.

Feeney loomed to go faster again but pitted; all the while, Fullwood moved to fifth with a 1:14.6129s, while Waters ran off onto the grass at Turn 1.

Ryan Wood, Andre Heimgartner, Courtney, Kostecki and Nick Percat rounded out the top 10, with Brown 12th, Payne 15th and Waters 20th.

The Craig Lowndes/Cooper Murray wildcard was 22nd, with the Matt Chahda/Brad Vaughan entry 25th ahead of the Hill Camaro.

Supercars will return to the track on Saturday for Practice 5 at 12:05pm, followed by Boost Mobile Qualifying at 2:15pm. The Top Ten Shootout, at 5:25pm, will complete the grid for Sunday's 500km race.