Jamie Whincup has taken victory in the Symmons Plains opener after mid-race contact with team-mate Craig Lowndes.
Lowndes had beaten pole-sitter Whincup to the first corner and led until Lap 26 of 42.
The second lap after a Safety Car restart saw Whincup dive to the inside of Lowndes into Turn 6, with the resulting contact bumping Lowndes off the road.
Whincup went on to beat James Courtney to the flag by 0.9s, with Mark Winterbottom completing the podium.
Lowndes fell to a low of 11th before recovering to eighth by the flag.
The incident was investigated post-race, with no penalty applied.
“Its an unfortunate situation,” said Whincup.
“Lowndesy deserved to finish higher than that but I'm not sorry about the move or anything.
“It was textbook move I was up the inside and was well and truly in there.
“It was a standard move but unfortunately that is the way it goes. Its disappointing we didn't have a 1-2.”
Russell Ingall converted third on the grid into a fourth place finish ahead of Scott McLaughlin and Garth Tander.
Shane van Gisbergen ran as high as sixth early before dropping to the back with a mechanical black flag for loose rear bodywork.
Assisted by the mid-race Safety Car, the Kiwi charged through the pack to eventually finish 11th.
The cause of the yellow had been a brake failure for Rick Kelly that left the #15 Nissan stranded in the Turn 6 gravel.
Team-mate and brother Todd Kelly was the race's other retirement, suffering a front-right suspension failure after contact with Jack Perkins.
Perkins eventually finished 22nd after a drive-through for a separate incident with Michael Caruso.
Also in the wars was David Reynolds, who jumped to third off the start before rapidly falling backwards.
He eventually pitted with a punctured tyre, greeting the flag as the last of the runners in 23rd.
Despite the incident, Lowndes enjoys a marginally extended championship lead following Race 4, now holding a 55 point lead over Fabian Coulthard.
Race 5 of the championship, also over 42 laps, will get underway at 1635 local time.
See below for the Race 4 result
1 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 42 | 39:48.26 |
2 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 42 | 39:49.16 |
3 | Ford Pepsi Max Crew | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 42 | 39:49.62 |
4 | Repair Management Aust Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VF | 42 | 39:53.39 |
5 | Valvoline Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Volvo S60 | 42 | 39:53.58 |
6 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 42 | 39:54.06 |
7 | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Will Davison | Mercedes E63 AMG | 42 | 39:54.62 |
8 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 42 | 39:57.01 |
9 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VF | 42 | 39:57.15 |
10 | Wilson Security Racing | Scott Pye | Ford Falcon FG | 42 | 39:57.53 |
11 | Team Tekno VIP Petfoods | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 42 | 39:58.08 |
12 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Ford Falcon FG | 42 | 40:00.76 |
13 | Ford Pepsi Max Crew | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | 42 | 40:02.39 |
14 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 42 | 40:03.59 |
15 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 42 | 40:03.75 |
16 | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Lee Holdsworth | Mercedes E63 AMG | 42 | 40:05.88 |
17 | Heavy Haulage Australia | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 42 | 40:06.13 |
18 | Norton Hornets | James Moffat | Nissan Altima | 42 | 40:07.44 |
19 | Team Advam/GB | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VF | 42 | 40:08.03 |
20 | Valvoline Racing GRM | Robert Dahlgren | Volvo S60 | 42 | 40:08.28 |
21 | Norton Hornets | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 42 | 40:09.14 |
22 | Team JELD-WEN | Jack Perkins | Ford Falcon FG | 42 | 40:24.25 |
23 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 41 | 39:50.99 |
DNF | Jack Daniel's Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 19 | 17:03.48 |
DNF | Jack Daniel's Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 13 | 11:44.70 |