Peter Paddon tops season-opening practice at Phillip Island

Peter Paddon is picking up right where he left off at the end of last year, with the 2024 series champion setting the pace across all three of Friday’s practice sessions.

Meanwhile, last year’s runner-up, Cooper Cutts, reminded the #1 First Focus Radical SR3 XXR driver why last year’s championship battle went down to the wire.

An 18-strong field of First Focus Radical Cup Australia SR3s opened and closed Friday’s on-track activities in what was the opening round of the 2025 season. New and familiar faces took advantage of the three 20-minute practice sessions across the day to get back into the swing of Radicals racing ahead of qualifying and the weekend’s three races on Saturday and Sunday.

Reigning champion Peter Paddon was untouchable in Practice 1, with the First Focus Radical SR3 XXR getting quicker as the clock counted down, finishing the session with the day’s top time of 1:30.5871s.

Cutts also set his best time of the day (1:31.2953s) in the first session—ultimately enough for third overall—before jumping to the top of the timing sheet early in Practice 2, only to be pipped by both Paddon and Bryce Moore aboard the #28 Lance East Exotics entry. Paddon and Cutts then traded the quickest times in the final moments of Practice 3, but Paddon went on to hold the top spot in each session and overall.

The West Australian duo of Chris Reindler and Moore, along with Victorian Terry Knowles in the Ausnets entry, were also in the mix across the day. The West Aussies finished the day second, with Knowles in fourth.

Arise Racing duo Mark Cirillo and Dave Allan rounded out the top five in what was a great start to the weekend for the newcomers.

First-time Radical racer Nick Lory, driving alongside Josh Hunt, was next in sixth, ahead of Bradley Russell, Stephen Champion, Ruairidh Avern, and Peter Clare, who rounded out the top 10.

While the first session of the day enjoyed green-flag running from start to finish, Practices 2 and 3 were interrupted mid-way through by a brief red flag period each.

Round 1 of the 2025 First Focus Radical Cup Australia continues tomorrow, Saturday, 5 April, with Qualifying at 9:10 am AEDT, followed by the first 25-minute sprint race at 12:10 pm AEDT.

Qualifying and all three races will be broadcast live on 7mate and 7plus as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries GT Festival Phillip Island.