But for some drivers they didn't get anywhere near as much time behind the wheel as they would have hoped for.

Erebus Motorsport's Jack le Brocq completed just two corners of his out-lap while Grove Racing's Richie Stanaway crashed at the Dipper midway through the hour-long session.

The trouble for le Brocq adds to what's been a tumultuous couple of months for his team, who are without the services of defending series champion Brodie Kostecki this weekend due to an ongoing dispute.

It took just one minute for trouble to strike Erebus, who were looking to put their off-season drama behind them as quickly as possible.

The team instead ran into immediate trouble on their out lap when Le Brocq's Camaro came to a complete stop after exiting Griffin's Bend.

Le Brocq's car had to be towed back to pit lane with an engine oil pressure issue and wouldn't emerge from the garage for the remainder of the session.

He at least kept the car clear of any structural damage, though the same couldn't be said for Stanaway.

His contact with the wall led to damage on the front left of the car and led to him stopping at the top of Conrod Straight.

Stanaway was the fastest Mustang in the field, and fourth overall, at the time he contacted the wall.

Drivers had some off-track moments at Skyline as they came grips with high winds at the top of the mountain but no other drivers came to grief.

Gunning for fast lap times was not on the agenda for teams throughout the hour-long session.

Red Bull Racing's Broc Feeney laid down a 2:07.955 in his early laps and no-one else would better that mark.