Garth Tander cruised to victory at the end of a drama filled final running of the 60/60 Super Sprint race format at Phillip Island.
Tander took the lead of the race when Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom clashed on the final corner of the first segment.
The two title contenders made side-to-side contact as Winterbottom dived to the inside; dropping the Ford driver to fourth and the Holden to 15th.
Tander and Alex Davison were left to share the front-row for the restart, with the Holden Racing Team Commodore eventually taking a comfortable three second win.
Davison bravely held off Fabian Coulthard for 12 of the second 14 laps before being relegated to his eventual finishing position of third.
Jamie Whincup moved through from 13th on the grid to finish as the best of the title contenders in fourth having overtaken Winterbottom on the final lap.
Tim Blanchard, Shane van Gisbergen, Lowndes, Chaz Mostert and Michael Caruso completed the top 10.
A dramatic accident occurred towards the end of the first 14 laps, where the Holdens of James Courtney and Alexandre Premat made heavy side-on-contact.
Premat, who later blamed a tyre problem, ran wide through Turn 3 before sliding back on at high-speed while Courtney was negotiating the hairpin.
Both drivers walked away from their heavily damaged cars, albeit with a limp in the case of Courtney, whose car suffered extensive intrusion bar damage on the driver’s side.
The results see Whincup return to the points lead ahead of team-mate Jamie Whincup, with Winterbottom remaining third.
It was a tough afternoon for the fourth championship contender Will Davison, who was turned around after squeezing Van Gisbergen at the penultimate corner during the first segment.
Spinning to the back of the field, the FPR Falcon driver eventually recovered to finish 17th.
Others in the wars included James Moffat, David Reynolds, Jason Bright, Jonathon Webb and Tim Slade; all of whom suffered a variety of tyre problems.
Two 100km races will complete the weekend’s racing action on Sunday.
See below for the full Race 32 result
| 1 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 28 | 01:16:53.80 |
| 2 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VF | 28 | 01:16:56.88 |
| 3 | Jeld-wen FPR Ford | Alex Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 28 | 01:16:58.07 |
| 4 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 28 | 01:16:58.61 |
| 5 | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 28 | 01:16:58.88 |
| 6 | Wilson Security Racing | Tim Blanchard | Ford Falcon FG | 28 | 01:16:59.84 |
| 7 | TEKNO Team VIP Petfoods | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 28 | 01:17:00.54 |
| 8 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 28 | 01:17:00.77 |
| 9 | Wilson Security Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | 28 | 01:17:00.77 |
| 10 | Norton Hornets | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 28 | 01:17:02.45 |
| 11 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VF | 28 | 01:17:03.18 |
| 12 | Team HIFLEX | Tony D’Alberto | Holden Commodore VF | 28 | 01:17:04.47 |
| 13 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VF | 28 | 01:17:04.94 |
| 14 | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Mercedes E63 AMG | 28 | 01:17:05.19 |
| 15 | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VF | 28 | 01:17:05.76 |
| 16 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 28 | 01:17:06.81 |
| 17 | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 28 | 01:17:07.18 |
| 18 | TEKNO Team Darrell Lea | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VF | 28 | 01:17:08.68 |
| 19 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Holden Commodore VF | 28 | 01:17:09.52 |
| 20 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 28 | 01:17:10.03 |
| 21 | SP Tools Racing | Maro Engel | Mercedes E63 AMG | 28 | 01:17:10.74 |
| 22 | The Bottle-O FPR Ford | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 28 | 01:17:24.47 |
| 23 | Dodo Insurance Racing | Dean Fiore | Holden Commodore VF | 28 | 01:17:30.87 |
| 24 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 27 | 01:16:55.67 |
| 25 | Heavy Haulage Australia Racing | Tim Slade | Mercedes E63 AMG | 26 | 01:17:33.42 |
| DNF | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 10 | 55:05.10 |
| DNF | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Alexandre Premat | Holden Commodore VF | 10 | 55:05.10 |
| DNF | Norton Hornets | James Moffat | Nissan Altima | 6 | 55:05.10 |
See below for the updated points standings (Top 28 only)
| 1 | Jamie Whincup | 2623 |
| 2 | Craig Lowndes | 2609 |
| 3 | Mark Winterbottom | 2535 |
| 4 | Will Davison | 2464 |
| 5 | Fabian Coulthard | 2245 |
| 6 | Garth Tander | 2167 |
| 7 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 2116 |
| 8 | Jason Bright | 2019 |
| 9 | James Courtney | 1909 |
| 10 | Scott McLaughlin | 1785 |
| 11 | David Reynolds | 1764 |
| 12 | Jonathon Webb | 1693 |
| 13 | Alex Davison | 1529 |
| 14 | Rick Kelly | 1515 |
| 15 | Russell Ingall | 1399 |
| 16 | Tony D’Alberto | 1361 |
| 17 | Chaz Mostert | 1314 |
| 18 | James Moffat | 1311 |
| 19 | Alexandre Premat | 1253 |
| 20 | Lee Holdsworth | 1223 |
| 21 | David Wall | 1172 |
| 22 | Michael Caruso | 1089 |
| 23 | Tim Slade | 1084 |
| 24 | Dean Fiore | 1051 |
| 25 | Tim Blanchard | 996 |
| 26 | Scott Pye | 959 |
| 27 | Todd Kelly | 925 |
| 28 | Maro Engel | 835 |
