Pither aiming to return to the top in Perth

After a disappointing end to his Clipsal campaign, Chris Pither planned on starting his Perth assault on a high.

But an engine misfire in the first practice session of the V8 Supercars Dunlop Series was not what the Ice Break Racing pilot had in mind.

"We had an issue in race two at Adelaide with the throttle jamming and didn't get the result, so I needed to come here and bounce back from that and try claw some points back to the guys at the front," he explained to v8supercars.com.au.

"So to have an engine misfire and not be able to complete a lap... it was pretty disappointing and stressful, to say the least."

However, with two-hours and 20minutes to the next practice session, the MW Motorsport team was able to rectify the issue, sending Pither to the top in the final practice session of the day.

"To go out there [after the misfire in practice one] and top the sheets for the last session was pretty awesome, I'm rapt with that," he told v8supercars.com.au.

"I thought we had the potential there to do it, we just needed to eliminate the issues we were having.

"I definitely think that there are a couple of areas where we can find some time, and if we do that, we can hopefully duplicate this result tomorrow ... bring on qualifying."

In 2014, the young kiwi was locked in a fierce battle for the Dunlop Series title after having success in the back half of the season.

Now having departed his former team Brad Jones Racing and joining the MW Motorsport stable, Pither intends to be at the top of the field consistently across the season to ensure the Dunlop Series title is within reach come Sydney Olympic Park in December.

"The guys [from BJR] are obviously at the front of the Dunlop Series and the main series, and when it's that competitive you have to be 100% on your game the whole time," he told explained to v8supercars.com.au.

"That requires a lot of seat time and being absolutely comfortable in your equipment.

"I think I'm getting close to that now in the new car and this weekend, we just need to be consistent. We're concentrated on getting those championship points and clawing a few back from Paul Dumbrell and Cam Waters - we need to be in front of them. That's what I'll be aiming to do... and I think we're heading in the right direction."

After finishing third and 12th in race one and two respectively at Adelaide, Pither sits 7th in the series standings - 90 points behind series leaders Cameron Waters and Paul Dumbrell who are tied for the top spot.

Qualifying for race one of the V8 Supercars Dunlop Series at the UBET Perth SuperSprint kicks off at 11.55am local time, ahead of Race 1 at 2.25pm.