Elliot Barbour topped the opening practice session for the ECB SuperUtes at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in which the quickest time was five seconds faster than last year.

Barbour’s pace-setting 2:42.461s in his Mitsubishi Triton proved 5.17s faster than the fastest race lap last year, a 2:47.639s set by Ryal Harris in Race 3.

This is mostly owing to the numerous upgrades to the category over the last 12 months.

Debutant Nathan Pretty (Holden Colorado) slotted into second late in Practice 1, while Cameron Crick (Mitsubishi Triton), Tom Alexander (Isuzu D-Max) and Craig Woods (Toyota Hilux) completed the top five.

Harris (Mazda BT-50), who is tied with Alexander for the series lead coming into the round, finished the 20-minute session in sixth.

There was a notable incident late in proceedings when another debutant in Joshua Anderson backed his Toyota Hilux into the gravel at Turn 1.

It wasn’t Anderson’s only moment, with Sieders Racing Team driver also running across the grass in tandem with Ben Walsh at The Chase early on.

SuperUtes will return for Practice 2 at 1355 AEDT.

Results: SuperUtes Bathurst, Practice 1