Payne logged a 1:21.3016s to head his Penrite stablemate Allen by 0.0402s at the end of 45 minutes.
Walkinshaw TWG Racing’s Ryan Wood was third fastest and 0.2414s adrift of the top time. His session was punctuated by a slow spin and a series of off-track moments as he tested the limits.
Ford entries dominated the top 10 with James Golding fourth for the Blanchard Racing Team ahead of Dick Johnson Racing driver Brodie Kostecki.
PremiAir Racing’s Jayden Ojeda was the first Chevrolet Camaro in sixth ahead of Tickford Racing’s Thomas Randle and Anton De Pasquale for Team 18.
Rylan Gray was a standout for Dick Johnson Racing in ninth while Broc Feeney was 10th for Triple Eight Race Engineering.
Feeney’s teammate Will Brown was only 17th and a second off the pace of Payne. Other noteworthy omissions from the top 10 included Chaz Mostert in 11th for Walkinshaw TWG Racing and Cameron Waters in 15th for Tickford Racing.
Cameron Hill brought out the sole red flag of the session when his Brad Jones Racing Supra conked out on the run to the final turn.
An electrical issue meant he was sidelined for the rest of the session after he stopped. The team changed the wiring loom in between events and will do it again between practice and qualifying.
Qualifying for Friday afternoon’s race is scheduled for 12:15pm AEST.
Results: Repco Supercars Championship ITM Christchurch Super440, Practice 1
| Pos | Num | Driver | Team | Car | Lap | Diff | Gap |
| 1 | 19 | Matthew Payne | Grove Racing | Ford Mustang GT | 1:21.3016 | ||
| 2 | 26 | Kai Allen | Grove Racing | Ford Mustang GT | 1:21.3418 | 0.0402 | 0.0402 |
| 3 | 2 | Ryan Wood | Walkinshaw TWG Racing | Toyota GR Supra A90 | 1:21.5430 | 0.2414 | 0.2012 |
| 4 | 7 | James Golding | Blanchard Racing Team | Ford Mustang GT | 1:21.6739 | 0.3723 | 0.1309 |
| 5 | 17 | Brodie Kostecki | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Mustang GT | 1:21.8231 | 0.5215 | 0.1492 |
| 6 | 31 | Jayden Ojeda | PremiAir Racing | Chev Camaro ZL1 | 1:21.8380 | 0.5364 | 0.0149 |
| 7 | 55 | Thomas Randle | Tickford Racing | Ford Mustang GT | 1:21.8427 | 0.5411 | 0.0047 |
| 8 | 18 | Anton De Pasquale | Team 18 | Chev Camaro ZL1 | 1:21.9280 | 0.6264 | 0.0853 |
| 9 | 38 | Rylan Gray | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Mustang GT | 1:21.9801 | 0.6785 | 0.0521 |
| 10 | 88 | Broc Feeney | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Ford Mustang GT | 1:22.0524 | 0.7508 | 0.0723 |
| 11 | 1 | Chaz Mostert | Walkinshaw TWG Racing | Toyota GR Supra A90 | 1:22.0679 | 0.7663 | 0.0155 |
| 12 | 8 | Andre Heimgartner | Brad Jones Racing | Toyota GR Supra A90 | 1:22.0793 | 0.7777 | 0.0114 |
| 13 | 10 | Zach Bates | Matt Stone Racing | Chev Camaro ZL1 | 1:22.0853 | 0.7837 | 0.006 |
| 14 | 99 | Cooper Murray | Erebus Motorsport | Chev Camaro ZL1 | 1:22.0961 | 0.7945 | 0.0108 |
| 15 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Tickford Racing | Ford Mustang GT | 1:22.1012 | 0.7996 | 0.0051 |
| 16 | 777 | Declan Fraser | PremiAir Racing | Chev Camaro ZL1 | 1:22.2562 | 0.9546 | 0.155 |
| 17 | 888 | William Brown | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Ford Mustang GT | 1:22.3536 | 1.052 | 0.0974 |
| 18 | 500 | David Reynolds | Team 18 | Chev Camaro ZL1 | 1:22.3989 | 1.0973 | 0.0453 |
| 19 | 4 | Jack Le Brocq | Matt Stone Racing | Chev Camaro ZL1 | 1:22.4698 | 1.1682 | 0.0709 |
| 20 | 96 | Macauley Jones | Brad Jones Racing | Toyota GR Supra A90 | 1:22.4709 | 1.1693 | 0.0011 |
| 21 | 11 | Jackson Walls | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Ford Mustang GT | 1:22.4978 | 1.1962 | 0.0269 |
| 22 | 3 | Aaron Cameron | Blanchard Racing Team | Ford Mustang GT | 1:22.6853 | 1.3837 | 0.1875 |
| 23 | 9 | Jobe Stewart | Erebus Motorsport | Chev Camaro ZL1 | 1:23.7045 | 2.4029 | 1.0192 |
| 24 | 14 | Cameron Hill | Matt Stone Racing | Toyota GR Supra A90 | 2:06.1517 | 44.8501 | 42.4472 |
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