Reynolds fastest at drying Pukekohe

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.

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“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