V8s leader Whincup tops practice times

Series leader Jamie Whincup topped the practice timesheets at Barbagallo Raceway on Friday ahead of a weekend which will go a long way to determining whether he defends his V8 Supercar championship.

Ford driver Whincup set the fastest time with a flying 57.0626 second-last lap with seconds remaining in the session.

It gives him a big boost going into qualifying and the first of two weekend races on Saturday, in which he has the chance to seal back-to-back titles.

Whincup leads the championship by 122 points from Holden rival Will Davison, who could only manage fourth fastest in practice.

Ford driver Fabian Coulthard capped off a milestone week in his career by setting the second fastest time.

Coulthard this week signed a deal to defect to Holden's Walkinshaw Racing for 2010.

Ford's James Courtney led for most of Friday's practice, but eventually slipped to third fastest.

Several drivers found themselves struggling to come to grips with the Barbagallo circuit.

Holden driver Garth Tander had a narrow escape from catastrophe when he lost control and went careering into a sand trap during an early practice session.

He missed ploughing into a tyre wall by just centimetres, before regathering the car and steering it back on to the track.

Ford stars Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards and Holden's Lee Holdsworth also came to grief during the session, beaching their cars in the sand and forcing delays while they were towed out.

- AAP