Mark Winterbottom is tipping Cam Waters to hit top gear and reignite his bid for a maiden Supercars championship at The Bend 500.
Tickford ace Waters dominated Friday's opening practice session before handing over the car to co-driver Winterbottom, with breakout rookie Jayden Ojeda firing off one minute and 17.1422 with his final lap.
Winterbottom trailed by just 0.0662 seconds on the new 3.41km west circuit, leading third-fastest Tickford teammates Thomas Randle and Reuben Goodall.
This year's 500km race has swapped from last year's 4.95km configuration to encourage closer racing.
Last year's winners Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood were fourth-fastest in the Dick Johnson Racing car, while series leader Broc Feeney and co-driver Nick Percat were 18th.
Waters is fourth in the standings, with Red Bull's Feeney claiming back-to-back Sprint Cup titles and regaining the lead from Grove Racing rival Matt Payne at the Ipswich Super 440 last month.
The 31-year-old Tickford driver has only claimed two wins and three pole positions, but 2015 series champion Winterbottom believes Waters' tough start to the season has him perfectly placed to attack the Enduro Cup.
A two-time championship runner-up and a three-time Bathurst 1000 podium finisher, Waters will be desperate to live up to his billing as a Supercars heavyweight.
Enduro season is officially here!
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"The way Cam Waters' season has gone has been really good for preparation," Winterbottom told Fox Sports.
"Last year, he won all three in Sydney and dominated.
"You don't become complacent, but the field catches you and overtakes you. This year, he started weaker.
"He's driven really well through the pack, and for endurance racing, you've got to be a good race car driver during those long races and stints.
"His preparation's probably better than ever, because he's had to work hard this season."
Payne was 11th-fastest in Friday's morning practice session, sharing the car with Will Davison.
The 23-year-old is licking his wounds after a car failure cost him the Sprint Cup title.
Payne simply needed to finish no worse than 17th place in the final race at Queensland Raceway after building a 110-point lead, but his car inexplicably lost power on lap 33 of 62 of the 200km sprint.
Not only did he give up the Sprint Cup title to Feeney, but also a spot in October's finals and 25 crucial bonus points.
The 26-strong field will have two more practice sessions on Friday, before qualifying at 3.15pm (AEST) on Saturday.
