Craig Lowndes has scored his first win of the 2011 V8 Supercars Championship at Queensland Raceway.
The TeamVodafone driver led every lap of the race from pole position, crossing the line just under a second clear of Tim Slade after 22 laps.
Jamie Whincup dropped from his fourth place on the grid to run sixth into the first corner, but soon picked off the cars of Karl Reindler (Lap 1), Rick Kelly (Lap 4) and Lee Holdsworth (Lap 7).
Once released from the pack, the championship leader could not make any inroads on the two leaders.
Kelly went on to claim fourth from Steve Owen and Greg Murphy, while Holdsworth held off a charging Steven Johnson for seventh.
Johnson made significant gains from his 13th grid position, with team-mate James Moffat also benefiting from strong tyre life to finish 10th – 12 places ahead of his qualifying performance.
Take the short survey.
Garth Tander made progress from 20th throughout the race, but lost a potential top 10 finish thanks to a flat tyre on the penultimate lap following contact with Paul Dumbrell.
While Tander limped home 28th, Jason Bright was little better off – finishing 21st after an early off at Turn 6.
Following the race, the teams entered a 15 minute service window prior to the start of Race 17.
See below for the full race result
| 1 | TeamVodafone | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:21.5763 |
| 2 | Lucky 7 Racing | Tim Slade | Ford Falcon FG | 22 | 26:22.5513 |
| 3 | TeamVodafone | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:28.4154 |
| 4 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:38.8654 |
| 5 | VIP Petfoods | Steve Owen | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:43.4811 |
| 6 | Pepsi Max Crew | Greg Murphy | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:45.8399 |
| 7 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:48.0069 |
| 8 | Jim Beam Racing | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon FG | 22 | 26:48.0341 |
| 9 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:49.4417 |
| 10 | Jim Beam Racing | James Moffat | Ford Falcon FG | 22 | 26:50.3086 |
| 11 | SP Tools Racing | Shane Van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon FG | 22 | 26:52.0448 |
| 12 | Irwin Racing | Alex Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 22 | 26:52.7147 |
| 13 | Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 22 | 26:53.5223 |
| 14 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Paul Dumbrell | Ford Falcon FG | 22 | 26:53.5496 |
| 15 | Trading Post FPR Falcon | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 22 | 26:54.6473 |
| 16 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:55.1183 |
| 17 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:55.9491 |
| 18 | Stratco Racing | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:56.7640 |
| 19 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:58.4863 |
| 20 | Toll Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:59.6601 |
| 21 | Team Boc | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 26:59.8940 |
| 22 | Jana Living Racing | Jason Bargwanna | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 27:00.0673 |
| 23 | Triple F Racing | Dean Fiore | Ford Falcon FG | 22 | 27:00.4550 |
| 24 | Bundaberg Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 27:01.6857 |
| 25 | Wilson Security Racing | Tony D’Alberto | Ford Falcon FG | 22 | 27:04.3700 |
| 26 | Mother Energy Racing Team | Jonathon Webb | Ford Falcon FG | 22 | 27:10.8973 |
| 27 | Gulf Western Oil Racing | Warren Luff | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 27:20.2781 |
| 28 | Toll Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VE2 | 22 | 27:45.0830 |
