Nick Percat has continued to close the gap to Dunlop Series leader Chaz Mostert by taking victory in Race 1 at Winton’s penultimate round.
Starting second on the grid, Percat shot to the lead in the opening metres and was not headed for the duration.
The win is Percat’s fifth of the season, the most of any driver, and his third in succession following a double victory in the preceding round at Bathurst.
Mostert meanwhile dropped to a low of seventh in the opening corners following a slow start, eventually recovering to fifth by edging Andrew Jones off the road at the exit of Turn 4 on the final lap.
Scott Pye shadowed Percat for the entire 12 lap journey to finish 1.3s behind the Coates Hire Commodore in second.
Luke Youlden held off fellow Falcon driver Scott McLaughlin to score third in a processional race at the front.
Filling sixth through 10th at the flag were Dale Wood, Andrew Jones, Ash Walsh, Elliot Barbour and Geoff Emery.
The results see Mostert’s points lead over second placed McLaughlin reduced to 13 points with Percat just 80 further adrift in third.
Race 2 for the weekend will kick-off at 0930 local time tomorrow.
Result: Dunlop Series Race 1, Winton Motor Raceway
| 1 | Coates Hire Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VE2 | 12 | 17:19.9532 |
| 2 | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VE | 12 | 17:21.3693 |
| 3 | MW Motorsport | Luke Youlden | Ford Falcon FG | 12 | 17:26.7352 |
| 4 | Fujitsu Racing | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG | 12 | 17:27.4056 |
| 5 | Ford Performance Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | 12 | 17:31.3050 |
| 6 | GB Galvanizing/Wilson Tech | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VE | 12 | 17:32.5987 |
| 7 | Frauenfelder | Andrew Jones | Holden Commodore VE | 12 | 17:33.3651 |
| 8 | Simpro Racing | Ashley Walsh | Ford Falcon FG | 12 | 17:33.7281 |
| 9 | MW Motorsport | Elliot Barbour | Ford Falcon BF | 12 | 17:36.2064 |
| 10 | R&J Batteries/EarthEx Logistic | Geoff Emery | Holden Commodore VE | 12 | 17:39.4503 |
| 11 | Bob Jane T-Marts/Sitech/Sonic | George Miedecke | Ford Falcon BF | 12 | 17:40.3547 |
| 12 | Bob Jane T-Marts | Rodney Jane | Ford Falcon FG | 12 | 17:42.2443 |
| 13 | Go Karts Go | Drew Russell | Ford Falcon BF | 12 | 17:44.3080 |
| 14 | Go Karts Go | Aaren Russell | Ford Falcon BF | 12 | 17:50.3719 |
| 15 | Wolfchester / Bahco | Glen Wood | Holden Commodore VE2 | 12 | 17:50.6512 |
| 16 | GSS Mining Rentals | Marcus Zukanovic | Holden Commodore VE | 12 | 17:57.5618 |
| 17 | Warrin Mining/Volvo Const Equi | Adam Wallis | Holden Commodore VE | 12 | 17:58.2298 |
| 18 | Carrington Equipment Group | Michael Hector | Ford Falcon BF | 12 | 18:01.3639 |
| 19 | Formula Tech/Interquip Racing | Brett Stewart | Holden Commodore VE | 12 | 18:08.6487 |
| 20 | Pacific Hoists | Nandi Kiss | Holden Commodore VE | 12 | 18:15.0130 |
