Scott McLaughlin has held out a charging Nick Percat to take the opening Dunlop Series race win of the weekend in Townsville.
McLaughlin shot to the lead off the startline, and set about building a healthy advantage while Luke Youlden, Percat and Chaz Mostert battled for second.
Percat faced a 3.7s deficit to the leader when he finally displaced Youlden for second on Lap 8 of 14, but was just 0.75s in arrears at the chequered flag.
The result sees McLaughlin overtake Mostert in the points standings to take the series lead.
Mostert fell from pole to fourth thanks to a poor start, but followed Percat past Youlden to score third.
Scott Pye and Ash Walsh also made their way around the fading Youlden late in the going to take fourth and fifth respectively.
Tim Blanchard, David Russell, Andrew Jones and George Miedecke rounded out the top 10.
Marcus Zukanovic and Michael Hector were the only non-finishers, with the latter having made contact with the Turn 11 tyre barrier on the opening lap.
See below for the full Race 1 result
| 1 | Fujitsu Racing | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG | 14 | 17:43.0992 |
| 2 | Coates Hire Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VE2 | 14 | 17:43.8489 |
| 3 | Ford Performance Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | 14 | 17:46.5588 |
| 4 | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 17:50.0115 |
| 5 | Simpro Racing | Ashley Walsh | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 17:51.1459 |
| 6 | Glabal Welding Supplies | Luke Youlden | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 17:53.1700 |
| 7 | Jaylec Automotive Electrical | Tim Blanchard | Ford Falcon FG | 14 | 17:53.6969 |
| 8 | Dreamtime Racing | David Russell | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 17:54.2638 |
| 9 | Kitten Racing | Andrew Jones | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 17:54.9656 |
| 10 | Bob Jane T-Marts/Sitech | George Miedecke | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 17:58.2489 |
| 11 | Bob Jane T-Marts | Rodney Jane | Ford Falcon FG | 14 | 18:01.8606 |
| 12 | Dreamtime Racing | Cameron Waters | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 18:06.7890 |
| 13 | GB Galvanizing/Wilson Tech | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 18:07.3680 |
| 14 | Go Karts Go | Aaren Russell | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 18:08.8156 |
| 15 | Go Karts Go | Drew Russell | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 18:09.8773 |
| 16 | Drill Pro | Daniel Jilesen | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 18:11.6258 |
| 17 | R & J Batteries | Geoff Emery | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 18:12.3158 |
| 18 | Minda Motorsport | Elliot Barbour | Holden Commodore VE2 | 14 | 18:14.9700 |
| 19 | Formula Tech/Interquip Racing | Brett Stewart | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 18:34.4012 |
| 20 | Pacific Hoists | Nandi Kiss | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 18:56.8146 |
| 21 | Solo Resource Recovery | Aaron McGill | Ford Falcon BF | 13 | 17:50.3330 |
| 22 | Berocca Performance | Paul Morris | Holden Commodore VE | 13 | 18:29.1242 |
| DNF | ABC Towing | Marcus Zukanovic | Holden Commodore VE | 12 | 15:25.4910 |
| DNF | Carrington Equipment Group | Michael Hector | Ford Falcon BF | 10 | 18:22.5137 |
See below for Speedcafe.com’s Sucrogen Townsville 400 Race Guide
See below for Speedcafe.com’s Race Guide for the British Grand Prix, which is also taking place this weekend
