Supercars championship leader Scott McLaughlin has made a fast start to this weekend’s Ipswich SuperSprint event, topping the timesheets in opening practice.

McLaughlin, who is on a streak of 12 consecutive front-row qualifying efforts, clocked a best lap of one minute and 09.5760 seconds at Queensland Raceway on Friday.

The New Zealander finished ahead of Holden’s Tim Slade (1:09.6246) and David Reynolds (1:09.7298) in the 45 minute session.

“The car was good straightaway,” McLaughlin told Fox Sports.

“A good start absolutely and we can build on it from there.”

The DJR Team Penske driver goes into the weekend with a six-point lead over Holden star Jamie Whincup in the title standings.

Whincup posted the 12th-fastest time of Friday’s opening session while McLaughlin’s teammate Fabian Coulthard, celebrating his 35th birthday, finished fourth-fastest in the session as he aims to close in on the championship top two.

Friday’s action wraps up with a second 45-minute practice session from 3pm.

Saturday features a 120km race from 4.15pm before the event wraps up on Sunday with a 200km race from 2.05pm.