Nissan duo Michael Caruso and James Moffat set the pace in the first practice session for the ITM 500 Auckland at Pukekohe.

Moffat showed the way for the majority of the 60 minute session, improving an early 1:03.91s to 1:03.85s at the halfway mark.

Team-mate Caruso put in a 1:03.798s with 12 minutes remaining before improving further to a 1:03.723s in the dying minutes.

While the practice order is usually polluted by different quality pre-marked rubber, all cars are on new hards today at the flyaway venue.

Encouraged by the pace, Caruso says the practice result is a good reward for his Nissan crew, which sent its cars to NZ directly from Queensland following the Gold Coast 600 two weeks ago.

“It is nice to be at the top particularly after the Gold Coast where we had a horrid weekend so for the boys to turn around the car after that, they have a done a great job,” he said.

“This track is one of the most underrated circuits we go to. I saw a few people having some offs and to get the most out of these cars you have got to be 110 percent committed.”

Craig Lowndes ended the run third fastest despite visibly struggling for rear grip in his Red Bull Holden.

The veteran endured two high-speed spins through the Turn 5-6 chicane complex, sliding to a stop without damage on both occasions.

“I was just trying to find the brake marker,” he explained.

“Every time you make adjustments it handles and feels differently. Every now and then you push the boundaries and limits and I went over them a couple of times.

“Luckily there is a lot of room there. We got going and we didn’t hurt the car.”

Title rival Mark Winterbottom was fourth ahead of Shane van Gisbergen, who like Lowndes pushed beyond the limit on multiple occasions.

Scott Pye was sixth ahead of Cameron Waters, who enjoyed his first ever V8 Supercars laps at the Kiwi venue aboard the #6 Pepsi Max Ford.

Fabian Coulthard, Scott McLaughlin and David Reynolds completed the top 10, while Jamie Whincup was just 16th after a spin of his own during the early going.

Result: V8 Supercars ITM 500 Auckland Practice 1