Jones beats Payne by 0.05s in first AGP practice

The SpongeBob Squarepants Camaro has ended the first Melbourne session on top, with Macauley Jones setting the pace in Practice 1 at Albert Park.

Jones, driving the new-look #96 Pizza Hut Chevrolet, beat Matt Payne (#19 Penrite Ford) and Cam Waters (#6 Monster Energy Ford) after 30 minutes.

The Brad Jones Racing driver was 0.0554s ahead of Payne, with Waters just 0.0048s behind his fellow Mustang driver.

Nick Percat (#4 Bendix Chevrolet) was fourth ahead of the impressive Jaxon Evans (#12 SCT Logistics Chevrolet), who made it a BJR one-five result.

Jones was one of three BJR drivers in the top 10, with Evans fifth and Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro) in 10th.

Percat was fastest after the first flyers on a 1:48.4636s, before Walkinshaw Andretti United star Chaz Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang) clocked a 1:48.1447s.

Mostert led Waters on a 1:48.1984s, with Payne making an all-Ford top three with a 1:48.4219s.

Points leader Will Brown (#87 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) was seventh on a 1:48.7639s, having recovered after an excursion through the grass at Turn 1.

Waters was quickest early in the second runs with a 1:48.1386s, before Percat went fastest again with a 1:48.0263s, before Mostert jumped into the 1:47s with a 1:47.9828s.

With 10 minutes remaining, Percat went quickest with a 1:47.7370s with three minutes remaining, before bowling a wide at Turn 1.

Waters, in his new Tickford Racing Ford, went fastest again with a 1:47.6769s, before Payne edged ahead with a 1:47.6721s.

With a minute remaining, Jones powered to the top, with teammate Evans, who has recovered from foot burns, jumped from 22nd to fifth.

Team 18 veteran Mark Winterbottom, meanwhile, ended up 14th after brushing the wall at Turn 8 in the #18 DEWALT Chevrolet.

Erebus Motorsport driver Todd Hazelwood (#99 TFH Hire Camaro) was sixth, albeit 0.3503s off the pace, from Mostert, Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang), Jack Le Brocq (#9 TFH Hire Camaro), and Heimgartner.

Red Bull Ampol Racing duo Brown and Broc Feeney, who are first and second in the points, were 15th and 20th.

Supercars will return to the track for Practice 2 at 1:25pm AEST, ahead of Race 3 Qualifying Race 3 at 3:10pm, followed by Race 4 Qualifying at 3:35pm.

Race 3 starts at 5:55pm, and will run for 19 laps or one lap after 6:33pm.