David Reynolds emerged fastest from a weather affected opening practice session for the ITM Auckland Super Sprint at Pukekohe.
The Erebus Holden driver ended the 30 minutes with a 1:02.74s best, just 0.3s shy of his own practice lap record set last year.
Reynolds proved 0.3s faster than next best Shane van Gisbergen, while Jamie Whincup, Fabian Coulthard and Mark Winterbottom completed the top five.
“It was a pretty good time for the first flying lap of the weekend,” smiled Reynolds.
“I”m really happy. The car has heaps of grip and the track is in good condition.
“I love this track and I like any track that you have to bring your cojones to go fast.”
A rain shower moments prior to the session saw a wet and slippery track greet the drivers for their initial running.
Van Gisbergen had the benchmark at just 1:13.29s when the red flags flew after six minutes following an off from Todd Kelly at Turn 3.
Kelly’s Nissan was retrieved from the gravel and later returned to set the 19th quickest time.
Many elected to remain garage bound during the midpoint of the session as the track transitioned from wet to dry.
Scott McLaughlin was the first to switch to slicks, setting a 1:06.99s that triggered the bulk of the field back onto the circuit.
McLaughlin improved to 1:04.57s before a flurry of fastest times shuffled him down to 23rd.
He returned to the track in the final minutes but could improve no higher than 20th.
“The track dried out quicker the we thought so we had a go,” said McLaughlin, one of five Kiwis in the Supercars field.
“I feel I just didn’t quite put the lap together but we are there or thereabouts.”
Andre Heimgartner and Dale Wood both failed to complete a flying lap.
The former’s LDM Holden required repairs to its left-rear corner after tagging the barriers while Wood’s team attended to a vibration in his Nissan.
Two more 30 minutes sessions are scheduled for later in the day.
Result: Virgin Australia Supercars Championship ITM Auckland Super Sprint Practice 1
| 1 | Erebus Motorsport Penrite | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VF | 1:02.73 | |
| 2 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Shane Van Gisberge | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.04 | 00.304 |
| 3 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.11 | 00.370 |
| 4 | DJR Team Penske | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:03.12 | 00.388 |
| 5 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:03.32 | 00.582 |
| 6 | Sengled Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:03.34 | 00.601 |
| 7 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.34 | 00.605 |
| 8 | Preston Hire Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.36 | 00.627 |
| 9 | Freightliner Racing | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.39 | 00.652 |
| 10 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:03.41 | 00.678 |
| 11 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.47 | 00.737 |
| 12 | Clipsal 500 Adelaide Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.52 | 00.786 |
| 13 | Nissan Motorsport | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 1:03.52 | 00.787 |
| 14 | TeamVortex | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.53 | 00.791 |
| 15 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.54 | 00.800 |
| 16 | Team Darrell Lea STIX | Will Davison | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.55 | 00.815 |
| 17 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | James Moffat | Volvo S60 | 1:03.60 | 00.867 |
| 18 | Monster Energy Racing | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:03.61 | 00.871 |
| 19 | carsales Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:03.67 | 00.936 |
| 20 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Volvo S60 | 1:03.68 | 00.941 |
| 21 | DJR Team Penske | Scott Pye | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:03.95 | 01.214 |
| 22 | Team Cooldrive | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VF | 1:04.30 | 01.562 |
| 23 | Super Black Racing | Chris Pither | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:04.44 | 01.703 |
| 24 | Erebus Motorsport | Shae Davies | Holden Commodore VF | 1:04.58 | 01.850 |
| 25 | GB Galvanizing Racing | Dale Wood | Nissan Altima | ||
| 26 | Plus Fitness Racing | Andre Heimgartner | Holden Commodore VF |
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