De Pasquale leads Waters in opening Sydney practice

The first Supercars track session in over 100 days belonged to Anton De Pasquale, who topped opening practice in Sydney.

De Pasquale commenced his Bunnings Trade Sydney SuperNight campaign with a session-topping 1:30.282s late in the 30-minute session.

Hot, blustery conditions welcomed drivers and teams for their first official running since July’s WD-40 Townsville SuperSprint.

Drivers rolled out 103 days after cars crossed the line in Townsville, and it was De Pasquale who set the early pace.

The Shell V-Power Racing Team driver clocked a 1:31.821s on his first flying lap.

Series leader Shane van Gisbergen emerged as the fast man for the balance of the session, first dropping in a 1:31.349s before lowering his marker to a 1:31.184s on his second run.

Teams chased balance as the session continued, with Red Bull Ampol Racing driver van Gisbergen’s time holding firm as cars circulated.

On his final run, van Gisbergen locked the rears at Turn 6 on a timed lap and fired into the run-off area.

A late flurry of times ensured van Gisbergen ended the session seventh.

Teammate Jamie Whincup also had a scare at the high-speed Turn 1.

Cameron Waters fired to the top in the closing minutes with a 1:30.609s, with Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki moving to second.

In the dying seconds, De Pasquale fired in purples to put a margin on the field.

Waters’ time was good enough for second, albeit 0.327s behind the #11 Shell V-Power Racing Team Mustang.

Todd Hazelwood jumped to third in the #14 Dunlop Super Dealers Commodore, with Mark Winterbottom and Andre Heimgartner dropping Kostecki to sixth.

Macauley Jones was an impressive eighth ahead of De Pasquale’s teammate Will Davison, with Jack Le Brocq rounding out the top 10.

The top 10 cars were covered by 1.172s, with the 24-car field covered by 2.636s.

Second practice will commence under lights at 7:30pm AEDT.