Try telling Nissan’s Michael Caruso that results don’t count at the V8 Supercars’ Australian Grand Prix exhibition round.

Months of work finally came together for Caruso when he claimed his maiden career pole position – and Nissan’s first since their touring car return – for Friday’s opening 10-lap race at Albert Park.

Caruso’s milestone may have come at a non-championship round but Nissan’s improvement in Melbourne after finally overcoming aerodynamic dramas does not auger well for rivals for the rest of the season.

Apart from Caruso’s heroics, two other Nissan drivers – Todd Kelly (fifth) and James Moffat (eighth) – featured in the top 10 in Thursday’s qualifying.

And in what should sound alarms bells for rivals, Caruso said just the slightest improvement could mean the difference between first and 10th in a tight V8 field.

“We’ve been working pretty hard over the last few months to slowly work our way up the field,” said Caruso after Nissan underwent a dramatic aerodynamic reshape since last season.

“Since the introduction of Car of the Future (last year) the level of competition has narrowed a lot.

“On any given weekend, and we sort of saw it last year with a record number of winners (17), which just shows how competitive this category is.

“If you do a good job each weekend you could be anywhere between first and 10th – it’s just that close.”

The Channel Ten televised Australian Grand Prix is not an official round on Seven Network’s V8 calendar due to a clash of broadcasters.

Picking up where fellow surprise packet Volvo left off, Caruso turned heads by clocking one minute 55.83 seconds to top qualifying ahead of Holden’s Shane van Gisbergen (1:56.02) and the impressive Scott McLaughlin (1:56.06).

Volvo were the toast of the recent season-opening Adelaide round after 20-year-old McLaughlin marked the Swedish manufacturers’ first Australian touring car sighting in 28 years with a podium finish.