Soon-to-be crowned six-time V8 Supercars Champion Jamie Whincup proved the fastest man in opening practice for the season ending Sydney NRMA 500.
The Red Bull driver clocked a 1:28.94s best after the chequered flag to edge fellow Holden runner Shane van Gisbergen by 0.02s.
Van Gisbergen had earlier missed 15 of the 20 minutes of track running after suffering a power steering problem on his out lap.
Michael Caruso was a late improver to put his Nissan third ahead of Brad Jones Racing pair Jason Bright and Fabian Coulthard, who both spent time atop the order in the closing stages.
Further back, it was a modest return for Marcos Ambrose, who after running as high as 14th, ended the session 23rd of the 26 runners.
The Xbox Ford driver’s 1:30.33s best proved 1.4s from the pace and came on the former NASCAR driver’s penultimate lap.
The only wild moment came with a left-front lock-up during the first flying lap on his second set of tyres, which saw Ambrose cut the Turn 2/3/4 chicane.
The second of three 20 minute practice sessions for the day will get underway at 1145 local time.
Result: V8 Supercars Practice 1, Sydney
| 1 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 1:28.9398* | |
| 2 | Team Tekno VIP Petfoods | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 1:28.9579 | 0:00.0181 |
| 3 | Norton Hornets | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 1:29.2796 | 0:00.3398 |
| 4 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 1:29.3023 | 0:00.3625 |
| 5 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VF | 1:29.5562 | 0:00.6164 |
| 6 | Wilson Security Racing | Scott Pye | Ford Falcon FG | 1:29.5822 | 0:00.6424 |
| 7 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 1:29.6060 | 0:00.6662 |
| 8 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 1:29.6208 | 0:00.6810 |
| 9 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 1:29.7270 | 0:00.7872 |
| 10 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 1:29.8049 | 0:00.8651 |
| 11 | Norton Hornets | James Moffat | Nissan Altima | 1:29.8206 | 0:00.8808 |
| 12 | Valvoline Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Volvo S60 | 1:29.8252 | 0:00.8854 |
| 13 | Ford Pepsi Max Crew | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | 1:29.8387 | 0:00.8989 |
| 14 | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Lee Holdsworth | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:29.8863 | 0:00.9465 |
| 15 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 1:29.8929 | 0:00.9531 |
| 16 | Walkinshaw Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 1:29.9501 | 0:01.0103 |
| 17 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Ford Falcon FG | 1:29.9863 | 0:01.0465 |
| 18 | Ford Pepsi Max Crew | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 1:30.0457 | 0:01.1059 |
| 19 | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Will Davison | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:30.1814 | 0:01.2416 |
| 20 | Team Advam/GB | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VF | 1:30.2131 | 0:01.2733 |
| 21 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:30.2427 | 0:01.3029 |
| 22 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:30.3190 | 0:01.3792 |
| 23 | XBOX Racing DJR | Marcos Ambrose | Ford Falcon FG | 1:30.3366 | 0:01.3968 |
| 24 | Repair Management Aust Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VF | 1:30.5617 | 0:01.6219 |
| 25 | Team JELD-WEN | Jack Perkins | Ford Falcon FG | 1:30.8721 | 0:01.9323 |
| 26 | Valvoline Racing GRM | Robert Dahlgren | Volvo S60 | 1:30.9278 | 0:01.9880 |
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