Percat fastest, Love crashes in morning Sydney testing

Matt Stone Racing driver Nick Percat has fired the first shot in 2025, pacing the field in Wednesday morning's session at the Destination NSW Sydney Test Day.

Percat led Walkinshaw Andretti United's Ryan Wood and Grove Racing's Matt Payne at the top of the timesheets, with new Team 18 duo Anton De Pasquale and David Reynolds rounding out the top five.

The session was red flagged in the final hour due to a crash for Blanchard Racing Team driver Aaron Love, who walked away from a crash at Turn 2 caused by a suspected brake failure.

The session went green at Sydney Motorsport Park at 8:30am local time, with reigning champion Will Brown opening proceedings with a 1:31.7563s, ahead of Brodie Kostecki (1:31.7819s), Chaz Mostert (1:31.8519s), Broc Feeney (1:32.0327s) and Reynolds (1:32.0357s).

Through the first 20 minutes, Percat had completed the most laps, while Jaxon Evans and Richie Stanaway hadn't completed a flying lap. At the hour mark, Andre Heimgartner had completed the most mileage, clocking 21 laps.

At the 30-minute mark, Erebus rookie Cooper Murray went quickest with a 1:31.4154s, with Will Davison going second with a 1:31.7468s, albeit 0.3314s behind Murray's benchmark.

At the 50-minute mark, Murray lowered his benchmark to a 1:31.3706s, before Davison vaulted to the top with a 1:31.1900s. Then, Wood was first into the 1:30s with a 1:30.7232s, nearly 0.5s up the road.

As the clock ticked over one hour elapsed, James Courtney moved to second for Blanchard Racing Team on a 1:30.9305s, just over two tenths behind Wood's benchmark.

Payne almost bumped Wood out of the top spot, settling into second on a 1:30.7689s, with just 0.0457s covering the two Mustangs.

Cameron Crick, meanwhile, raised eyebrows in a new tyre run ahead of his solo debut in the Repco Supercars Championship, jumping to an impressive sixth in the wildcard #35 Matt Stone Racing Camaro.

Team 18 also showed pace throughout the morning session, De Pasquale and Reynolds slotting into third and fourth respectively, both within a tenth of Wood. 2023 Super2 champion Kai Allen then climbed into sixth in the sister Penrite Racing entry to Payne, with the 19-year-old laying down a 1:31.1420s.

Wood held sway through two hours, with Courtney and Bryce Fullwood leading the mileage charts on 36 and 33 laps respectively. Reigning Bathurst champion Kostecki, meanwhile, sat seventh despite completing just 19 laps.

Percat then leapt to first on a 1:30.5354s, establishing a 0.1878s margin over Wood.

Into the final hour, the day was paused for the first time when Love crashed, leading to a 15-minute stoppage. Love emerged unscathed from the crash, leaving drivers with 20 minutes of on-track running remaining.

The times didn't change at the top, Percat holding onto P1 to claim early bragging rights.

Feeney recorded the most laps with 62, with Murray's 16 the fewest of the 25 drivers.

Cars will return to the track at 2:00pm local time following a 60-minute fuel churn practice session, for three on-track hours of running to conclude the Destination NSW Sydney Test Day.

After Wednesday's Destination NSW Sydney Test Day, Supercars will return to Sydney Motorsport Park for the opening race of what is set to be the most action-packed season in Supercars history.

Race 1 takes place on Friday night, with Race 2 on Saturday night and Race 3 on Sunday afternoon. Tickets for the February 21-23 event are on sale now.