Holdsworth quickest, but SVG looks pacey
out. It’s mostly just getting a feel for the track,’’ he said.
‘‘Whenever you don’t have that warm-up lap, you try to do a fast lap straight away and the car’s not warm, you’re not warm, so it does take a bit of getting used to.
‘‘I don’t think the car is too bad, it’s just a matter of getting used to a few things.’’
Even though McLaughlin said he wasn’t overly concerned about only doing two flying laps, it does make today’s final practice, before qualifying, even more important.
‘‘We need to have a good practice session for sure, but who knows what the weather is going to do,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m comfortable with where we are, I think it’s a matter of putting a lap together and seeing how we go.’’
The forecast is for rain to hit Pukekohe this afternoon, something that could play into the hands of van Gisbergen, who has proven over the years to be the best driver of a Supercar in the rain.
However, he’s not sure how much of an advantage it will be for him because of the resurfacing.
‘‘It’s a completely different track and it’s all an unknown now, every part of the track is different from when I grew up here racing,’’ he said.
‘‘When the back straight was done two years ago we couldn’t even drive on it [in the rain], so it will be interesting.
‘‘Hopefully it won’t be too wet, because it will probably be pretty slippery for everyone.
‘‘But you’ve got to try to adapt to it and make the best of it.’’
Meanwhile, in the second practice session, which is a better indicator of race pace, Kiwis Fabian Coulthard was ninth quickest, with Stanaway 15th and Andre Heimgartner 16th. England look set to bring a weakened Twenty20 squad to New Zealand, amid concerns of burnout to their key multi-format players.
The series was shaping as a juicy spectacle after a thrilling ICC Cricket World Cup final in July between the two countries, where the match was tied and then couldn’t be separated either in the Super Over. England were declared World Cup champions, courtesy of having hit more boundaries in the decider (26-17).
The Daily Mail reported England could be without vital figures Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler for the five-match T20 series in New Zealand, which begins at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval on November 1.
Root remained determined to take part in next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
England are tipped to send a full