Cam Waters has sent an early warning to Supercars championship leader Will Brown by topping the practice timesheet at the Gold Coast 500.

Waters clocked a lap time of one minute, 11.397 seconds at the Surfers Paradise street circuit to finish ahead of Andre Heimgartner and James Courtney in Friday's first run.

Brown was fifth-fastest, sandwiched between championship contenders Chaz Mostert (third) in fourth and Broc Feeney (second) in sixth.

Tickford ace Waters is a slim chance in the championship race and must be flawless in his Mustang across the weekend if he wants to remain in contention.

He is 464 points behind Red Bull's Brown in fourth and must close the gap by at least 165, with a total of 300 available this round.

The Mildura product's title aspirations will end on Saturday if he falls behind by 151 points after the first race.

Meanwhile, Brown could clinch the title if he leaves the Gold Coast with a lead of 301 points or more.

Waters holds the advantage over Brown at the punishing street circuit, registering his 10th career win with a thrilling victory at Surfers Paradise last year.

His Red Bull rival has not finished in the top 10 as a solo driver on the Gold Coast.

Newly minted Bathurst 1000 winner Brodie Kostecki finished in 15th on Friday while Brad Jones Racing rookie Jaxon Evans' weekend began with frustration after he was ruled out of the session with a gearbox issue.

Evans was able to register a lap time of one minute, 23.981 seconds over eight laps before he was forced to return to the pit.