Kiwi driver scores fastest V8 time

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FOOT DOWN: Kiwi Shane Van Gisbergen on his way to fastest practice time ahead of the Phillip Island V8 Supercars classic.

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New Zealand young gun Shane Van Gisbergen has up-ended the stars and scored a psychological edge ahead of Sunday's Phillip Island V8 Supercars classic.

The 21-year-old clocked the quickest lap in practice in his Ford and was the only driver to crack the 1min 33sec mark.

Van Gisbergen stopped the clock at 1.32.79s with seven minutes of the final practice session remaining.

TeamVodafone star Craig Lowndes was second fastest with a 1.33.01 lap, ahead of another Holden driver, Rick Kelly.

Kiwi veteran endurance race specialist Greg Murphy ran in 25th spot but was yet to make a decision whether to race due to a recent back operation.

Van Gisbergen, touted as a future Supercars star, has scored a clutch of third places this season and is hopeful of a step up on the podium this weekend.

Regarded as a fine wet weather driver, he proved fast in both the wet and the dry today.

"It was pretty hard in the changeable conditions but the car was pretty good straight out of the box which made it a lot easier," Van Gisbergen said.

"We just fine-tuned a few things to help us through the high-speed corners here, then with the new tyres it was an awesome feeling with that amount of grip - you can really push it."

Phillip Island is renowned for its winds but Van Gisbergen is the only racing driver or motorcycle racer to see it as an advantage.

"The wind helps a lot, the way it's blowing and the way the car handles through the corners and its attitude, it changes it a lot on this circuit," he said.

Lowndes and five-time champion Mark Skaife are teaming for the first time in a decade, since they combined to win the Queensland 500 in 2000.

"Both Mark and I are happy the car has rolled out of the transporter pretty good. We're quite confident and we'll keep chipping away at it," Lowndes said.

"It's a nice car to drive in the wet and the dry and we're pretty encouraged about what happened today.

"We'll sit down tonight and go through the data and see what we can change on the car to make it that little bit nicer for tomorrow."

Skaife, who has not raced a V8 since last year's Bathurst 1000, won here two years ago with Garth Tander.

"The circumstances with Garth was that there was a massive amount of rain and we were stuck on slicks and you've got to get through those phases of the race to get yourself into a position where you can be in contention at the end of the race," Skaife said.

"You need to be in contention late in the day and up there somewhere and see what happens.

"Long-distance races are full or surprises."

Series leader James Courtney was sixth on the timesheets in his Ford.

- AAP