Hazelwood led the field away at the start from pole, but Herne made his presence known almost immediately.
The two-time champions battled it out up Mountain Straight, with Herne momentarily taking the lead before Hazelwood took it back into Griffins Bend.
Back in the minor positions, Jarrod Hughes and Tom Davies were engaged in an enthralling battle for sixth position.
Hazelwood appeared to struggle in the opening laps with understeer, allowing Herne to reel him back in.
Herne took the lead at The Chase, and the battle between the pair allowed James Moffat, James Golding, and Ben Bargwanna to reel the leaders back in.
Adam Garwood suffered a mechanical failure across the top of the mountain, leaving a trail of fluid on the road around McPhillamy Park and over Skyline.
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Garwood was able to stay off the racing line, but the safety car was drawn to recover the stricken car.
Despite the recovery effort, the race finished under safety car due to the amount of fluid on the road.
Moffat, Golding, and Bargwanna rounded out the top five behind Herne and Hazelwood.
Hughes, Davies, and Jack Smith were next in the queue, with Ben Gomersall and Elliot Barbour rounding out the top 10.
The Trans Am Cup Series returns for Race 2 at 3:55pm AEDT.
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