Mark Winterbottom and Scott McLaughlin traded the fastest time at Pukekohe in a practice session that ended with an off from Jamie Whincup.
The Red Bull Racing Holden brought out the red flags in the dying minutes with an off through the Turn 2/3 complex.
The car came to rest in the gravel with its nose resting against the Turn 3 tyre barrier.
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Struggling with oversteer, Whincup had been just 13th at the time of the off. Crucially, the car escaped damage ahead of qualifying.
Winterbottom and McLaughlin were the pace-setters throughout the 30 minutes, with the Ford’s eventual fastest time of 1:03.50s proving just 0.08s quicker than the Volvo.
Will Davison’s Mercedes and Rick Kelly’s Nissan made it four marques in the top four.
Jack Perkins and David Reynolds underlined Ford Performance Racing’s strong start in fifth and sixth respectively, while Jason Bright, James Courtney, Shane van Gisbergen and Lee Holdsworth completed the top 10.
A dry track with damp patches greeted the drivers following morning rain, adding to the challenge of finding a qualifying set-up around the fast and bumpy layout.
PRACTICE #1 – ITM 500 Auckland – Pukekohe Park
Position | Car | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
1 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Pepsi Max Crew | Ford Falcon FG | 1:03.5007 | |
2 | 33 | Scott McLaughlin | Valvoline Racing GRM | Volvo S60 | 1:03.5807 | 0:00.0800 |
3 | 9 | Will Davison | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:03.7416 | 0:00.2409 |
4 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Nissan Altima | 1:03.8510 | 0:00.3503 |
5 | 18 | Jack Perkins | Team JELD-WEN | Ford Falcon FG | 1:03.8868 | 0:00.3861 |
6 | 55 | David Reynolds | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Ford Falcon FG | 1:03.9171 | 0:00.4164 |
7 | 8 | Jason Bright | Team BOC | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.9625 | 0:00.4618 |
8 | 22 | James Courtney | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.9718 | 0:00.4711 |
9 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Team Tekno VIP Petfoods | Holden Commodore VF | 1:03.9928 | 0:00.4921 |
10 | 4 | Lee Holdsworth | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Mercedes E63 AMG | 1:04.0118 | 0:00.5111 |
11 | 14 | Fabian Coulthard | Lockwood Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:04.0253 | 0:00.5246 |
12 | 47 | Tim Slade | Supercheap Auto Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:04.0580 | 0:00.5573 |
13 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Red Bull Racing Australia | Holden Commodore VF | 1:04.0764 | 0:00.5757 |
14 | 16 | Scott Pye | Wilson Security Racing | Ford Falcon FG | 1:04.0885 | 0:00.5878 |
15 | 36 | Michael Caruso | Norton Hornets | Nissan Altima | 1:04.1140 | 0:00.6133 |
16 | 2 | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore VF | 1:04.1297 | 0:00.6290 |
17 | 17 | David Wall | Wilson Security Racing | Ford Falcon FG | 1:04.1351 | 0:00.6344 |
18 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Red Bull Racing Australia | Holden Commodore VF | 1:04.1489 | 0:00.6482 |
19 | 222 | Nick Percat | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:04.1713 | 0:00.6706 |
20 | 360 | James Moffat | Norton Hornets | Nissan Altima | 1:04.1920 | 0:00.6913 |
21 | 23 | Russell Ingall | Repair Management Aust Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:04.2508 | 0:00.7501 |
22 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Nissan Altima | 1:04.3105 | 0:00.8098 |
23 | 6 | Chaz Mostert | Ford Pepsi Max Crew | Ford Falcon FG | 1:04.4578 | 0:00.9571 |
24 | 34 | Robert Dahlgren | Valvoline Racing GRM | Volvo S60 | 1:04.5403 | 0:01.0396 |
25 | 21 | Dale Wood | Team Advam/GB | Holden Commodore VF | 1:04.6381 | 0:01.1374 |