The Supercars field sampled the South Island circuit for the first time in the sole practice session this morning ahead of a busy day that includes a 120-kilometre race.
The early impressions were positive, pacesetter Matt Payne particularly enamoured with the 3.3-kilometre layout.
“Oh man, it’s been a long time since I’ve had that much fun going out there and just ripping a new track,” the Grove Racing driver told Fox Sports.
“It’s so cool to drive, it’s so busy. I was just having a ball out there.
“The [Grove] cars were ripper fast, so thanks to the guys and girls at Penrite Racing, they did a mega job.
“Great way to start the weekend and yeah, really, really, really cool.”
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Jason Richards Memorial Trophy points leader Ryan Wood ended up third, despite several off-track moments as he re-learned the circuit.
“It was full on,” he said. “I forgot how cool Ruapuna is. It was a lot of fun.
“I made a few mistakes and had a few spins, so it was action-packed for me and happy with where we ended.
“We have a bit of work to do; the Grove cars seem like they’re fast.”
Jayden Ojeda, who led the Chevrolet charge with the sixth-fastest time, had the most descriptive take of the layout.
“The circuit’s pretty interesting,” he said. “It feels like you’re trying to drive a semi-trailer around a car park. It’s pretty busy through the infield.
“It’s been a fun circuit to learn and a lot of dirt, we’re making a mess of the joint, to be honest.
“It will be cool come racing to see how the cars race around here.”
Ojeda was less forthcoming when it came to analysing the aero changes to the Camaro package made ahead of first practice.
“In terms of the adjustments, I can’t tell the difference,” he added.
“You know, it’s such a small change that if you can tell the difference, you’d be doing pretty good.”
Qualifying for Race 1 will take place at 2:15pm local time.
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