Craig Lowndes drove away from the field to take a comfortable victory in the opening race of the weekend at Symmons Plains.
The pole-sitter beat fellow front-row starter Mark Winterbottom to the first corner and went on to lead all 25 laps.
Lowndes took the flag 2.3s clear of the Pepsi Ford, which had third placed James Courtney’s HRT Commodore in close company.
“We worked pretty tirelessly yesterday on making sure we had a good race car,” said Lowndes, who had endured a series of wild offs in Friday practice.
“The most important part was to get that break off the start and make sure Frosty couldn’t stay in the tow on the back straight.
“We then looked after the car and brought it home.”
Will Davison had taken third from Courtney at the first corner but was then bumped into a spin at the Turn 4 hairpin.
The Erebus Mercedes rejoined at the back of the field and could recover to no better than 17th in the short race.
Shane van Gisbergen benefitted from the incident to score fourth ahead of Chaz Mostert, David Reynolds, Jamie Whincup, Garth Tander, Tim Slade and Fabian Coulthard.
Passing among the front-runners was non-existent after the second lap, with the top 10 all holding their positions to the flag.
The fourth lap saw Todd Kelly tagged into a spin by Lee Holdsworth amid a spirited dice for 12th, which resulted in the Holden receiving a drive-through penalty.
Scott McLaughlin and Ash Walsh were both hit by engine problems and failed to finish.
The Volvo team is now undertaking an engine change ahead of this afternoon’s second heat, which is scheduled for 1715 local time.
RESULTS : Race 4 – Symmons Plains
|
1 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
22:01.3121 |
|
2 |
Pepsi Max Crew |
Mark Winterbottom |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
25 |
22:03.5886 |
|
3 |
Holden Racing Team |
James Courtney |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
22:04.3835 |
|
4 |
Team Darrell Lea STIX |
Shane Van Gisbergen |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
22:09.7694 |
|
5 |
Pepsi Max Crew |
Chaz Mostert |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
25 |
22:10.1141 |
|
6 |
The Bottle-O Racing Team |
David Reynolds |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
25 |
22:11.1896 |
|
7 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
Jamie Whincup |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
22:11.3944 |
|
8 |
Holden Racing Team |
Garth Tander |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
22:12.2731 |
|
9 |
Supercheap Auto Racing |
Tim Slade |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
22:14.6622 |
|
10 |
Freightliner Racing |
Fabian Coulthard |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
22:15.3370 |
|
11 |
Super Black Racing |
Andre Heimgartner |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
25 |
22:17.2157 |
|
12 |
Nissan Mororsport |
James Moffat |
Nissan Altima |
25 |
22:19.3702 |
|
13 |
GB Galvanizing Racing |
Dale Wood |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
22:22.8746 |
|
14 |
Nissan Motorsport |
Rick Kelly |
Nissan Altima |
25 |
22:24.7058 |
|
15 |
Nissan Motorsport |
Michael Caruso |
Nissan Altima |
25 |
22:27.4640 |
|
16 |
Repair Management Aust Racing |
Nick Percat |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
22:28.6809 |
|
17 |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
Will Davison |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
25 |
22:28.8766 |
|
18 |
DJR Team Penske |
Scott Pye |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
25 |
22:29.8759 |
|
19 |
Team BOC |
Jason Bright |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
22:30.8257 |
|
20 |
Wilson Security Racing GRM |
David Wall |
Volvo S60 |
25 |
22:32.9916 |
|
21 |
Team Cooldrive |
Tim Blanchard |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
22:36.2986 |
|
22 |
Walkinshaw Racing |
Lee Holdsworth |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
22:44.1996 |
|
23 |
Nissan Motorsport |
Todd Kelly |
Nissan Altima |
25 |
22:49.7871 |
|
DNF |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
Ashley Walsh |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
11 |
19:21.5359 |
|
DNF |
Wilson Security Racing GRM |
Scott McLaughlin |
Volvo S60 |
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