Supercars have confirmed Sunday's Bathurst 1000 will start 30 minutes earlier than scheduled, with the weather forecast suggesting rain and possible storms could play havoc with the race.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, between 4-10mm of rain could fall at Mt Panorama on Sunday, with an 80 percent chance of rain, and a possible thunderstorm.
That's prompted organisers to shift the start time forward by half an hour, to 11am local time. The move is designed to provide additional flexibility to get the race completed, with a longer race anticipated if weather
intervenes, with the possibility of extra safety car periods, or even a red flag if conditions are too dangerous.
At least 50 percent of the scheduled distance, or 81 laps, must be completed for a winner to be declared.
Only twice in the 60-year history of the event has the race been stopped early. In 1981 Dick Johnson and John French were awarded the victory after a huge crash blocked the track at McPhillamy Park, while in 1992 Jim Richards and Mark Skaife were declared the winners after a storm brought torrential rain that made conditions almost impossible.
A brief shower during Friday's first practice session gave drivers a small taste of what to expect if the heavens open on Sunday.
Ford's Will Davison set the fastest lap time, the third time in four sessions the car he shares with Cam Waters has topped the timesheets.
Davison was just over a tenth quicker than Garth Tander, who's driving with Shane van Gisbergen.
The session was twice red-flagged due to accidents, with Jayden Ojeda and Jordan Boys both hitting the wall.
Ojeda found the fence at The Cutting, the car escaping with relatively minor damage to the right hand side.
Boys went off at Hell Corner, hitting the safety barrier almost head on.
"It just grabbed the front as soon as I got on the brakes, and I couldn't get it unlocked," Boys told the Supercars telecast.
"Pretty annoyed at myself, really, I tried to go in there a bit deeper, just to try and get some lap time, just a mishap."
Team boss Brad Jones was left to rue a damaged car just hours out from qualifying.
"He just went in a little bit deeper than he had the lap before, he's locked the inside wheel and not been able to get around the apex," Jones told the Supercars telecast.
"I was a bit surprised at how hard it actually hit the wall, to be honest, hopefully the car's not too badly damaged."
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