Pukekohe qualifying cancelled due to rain

With relentless rain lashing the circuit all morning, the start of the session was delayed by the best part of 20 mins as officials waited to see if conditions would improve.

When the session did eventually start the conditions were bad enough to catch the likes of title contenders Scott McLaughlin Shane van Gisbergen out, race director Tim Schenken calling a red flag after just four minutes.

Race officials spent the next half an hour monitoring conditions, before opting to cancel the session.

That means Cam Waters will start from pole, alongside Jamie Whincup. McLaughlin will start fourth, Chaz Mostert fifth, van Gisbergen sixth, and Fabian Coulthard seventh.

According to drivers, the resurfaced back straight was causing the biggest problem.

"I did a lap at half throttle down the back straight, and I said 'I'm pitting, this is stupid'," said van Gisbergen. "Then they red flagged it straight away.

"I don't know, it's crazy. The back straight is too new on the surface, it's so shiny and slippery.

"I don't want to be out there on that stuff, it's a bit of a joke. I hope the rain eases and we can have a safe race even if it is wet, but that level is too much."

James Courtney added that the visibility was another issue.

"The majority of the track isn't too bad, it's just the back straight where they've resurfaced it," he said.

"I think they've resurfaced it with ice! Second gear and the thing is aquaplaning and out of control. It's pretty hairy.

"There was a car going slow, and I didn't even see it until the last second and nearly cleaned him up. It's just that back section; you're lucky to see the end of the bonnet."

Scott McLaughlin, meanwhile, reckons the conditions are as bad as he's ever seen.

"I had a bit of a moment into [Turn] 1 before," said the DJR Team Penske star. "I absolutely crapped myself. It's pretty sketchy out there, that's the worse I've ever been in a racecar.

"It's full on, and then the spray is bad. We're probably 26 whinging racecar drivers at the moment. We're lucky to be doing what we're doing, but when you go out there and you can hardly get full throttle anywhere, it's pretty sketchy."

Teams have just three sets of new wet weather tyres available for each car this weekend, and a single set of grooved tyres used to transport the cars.

Grid for Race 1

1 Cam Waters
2 Jamie Whincup
3 Mark Winterbottom
4 Scott McLaughlin
5 Chaz Mostert
6 Shane van Gisbergen
7 Fabian Coulthard
8 Tim Slade
9 David Reynolds
10 Craig Lowndes
11 Lee Holdsworth
12 Jason Bright
13 Rick Kelly
14 James Courtney
15 Michael Caruso
16 Garth Tander
17 Scott Pye
18 Nick Percat
19 James Moffat
20 Dale Wood
21 Will Davison
22 Todd Kelly
23 Tim Blanchard
24 Simona de Silvestro
25 Aaren Russell
26 Jack Perkins