Storey hunting for victory at Hampton Downs 101

Mercedes-AMG pilot top Kiwi at the end of Friday AGT practice

New Zealander Dominic Storey has ended day two of the Hampton Downs 101 as the quickest New Zealander in testing, with he and his Eggleston Motorsport AMG co-driver Peter Hackett setting the second-fastest time in the Australian GT's second and final practice session of the weekend. 

“I set that lap-time in a situation that probably wasn't ideal, so I'm pretty comfortable. Top Kiwi and P2 is very good,” Storey told Driven.co.nz.

Storey's 1:30.842 was pipped in the final minutes of the 40-minute session by David Russell, but stood as the quickest time for most of the session after it was set early in proceedings. 

“They ran me at the start and I ran a qualifying simulation, and a top-10 shootout simulation as well just to make sure tomorrow afternoon we know what we're doing if we're in the top 10.”

Sitting fourth in the Australian GT Endurance Championship standings, Storey is confident that he and Hackett will be a factor come Sunday's endurance epic.

“I think to be honest with the way that Pete [Hackett] drove today,  I think we're in with a shot of a win this weekend.

“Our combination will work really well around here, and it's a good circuit that has a lot of tyre degredation. That'll keep Pete on the pace throughout the race, and I think you'll see him be quite strong in the middle stint — which is what we lacked at Sydney Motorsport Park.

“I think this weekend, you'll see us as a strong combination. I wouldn't count us out for a win.”

Christopher Mies/Tony Bates (Audi), Tony D'Alberto/Ash Samadi (Audi), and Michael Caruso/Matt Simmons (Nissan) rounded out the top five. 

Expat New Zealander Steve Richards was the only other Kiwi to end the day in the top 10, finishing eighth in his Laser Plumbing and Electrical BMW M6 GT3.