Shane van Gisbergen continued his winning ways by taking out Race 3 of the MSS Security V8 Supercars Challenge at Albert Park.
The Tekno Autosports Holden controlled two double-file rolling starts, the second of which followed an early Safety Car, before holding off Fabian Coulthard to the chequered flag.
Coulthard had moved to second when Craig Lowndes ran wide at Turn 9 on the restart lap.
The Red Bull entry recovered to take the flag directly behind Coulthard in third.
Scott McLaughlin, Garth Tander, Michael Caruso, Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom, David Reynolds and Todd Kelly completed the top 10.
The result marked solid progress for Ford Performance Racing duo Winterbottom and Reynolds, who had started 14th and 18th respectively.
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The Safety Car was called partway through the opening lap after the leading FPR entry of Chaz Mostert was spun by Garth Tander at Turn 7.
The right-side of Mostert’s stationary Pepsi Max Ford was subsequently collected by Dale Wood’s Brad Jones Racing Holden.
Both cars are now in doubt for Sunday’s Race 4 after sustaining heavy damage.
Jason Bright was another with a hard luck story. Starting eighth, the Team BOC Holden ran fifth before retiring with a stuck throttle on the fifth lap.
Like Bright, Will Davison had also gained places during the chaotic start, moving from 10th on the grid to seventh.
The Erebus Mercedes driver’s race was then ruined by a puncture, which forced him to pit as the Safety Car withdrew.
Scott Pye’s misfortune also continued, with the Dick Johnson Racing Ford a retirement after being squeezed into the Turn 5 exit wall on the restart lap.
A fourth and final race will complete the MSS Security V8 Supercars Challenge tomorrow.
The Race 4 grid will be set by accumulated points from the opening three heats, leaving Van Gisbergen to start from pole ahead of Coulthard, Lowndes, McLaughlin and Caruso.
See below for the Race 3 result
| 1 | Team TEKNO VIP Petfoods | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 12 | 27:53.08 |
| 2 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VF | 12 | 27:53.58 |
| 3 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 12 | 27:54.05 |
| 4 | Valvoline Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Volvo S60 | 12 | 27:58.39 |
| 5 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 12 | 27:59.06 |
| 6 | Norton Hornets | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 12 | 27:59.51 |
| 7 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 12 | 28:02.45 |
| 8 | Pepsi Max Crew | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 12 | 28:03.31 |
| 9 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 12 | 28:05.54 |
| 10 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 12 | 28:05.81 |
| 11 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 12 | 28:06.10 |
| 12 | Norton Hornets | James Moffat | Nissan Altima | 12 | 28:07.15 |
| 13 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 12 | 28:07.49 |
| 14 | Walkinshaw Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 12 | 28:09.04 |
| 15 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Ford Falcon FG | 12 | 28:09.95 |
| 16 | Jeld-wen | Jack Perkins | Ford Falcon FG | 12 | 28:10.19 |
| 17 | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Lee Holdsworth | Mercedes E63 AMG | 12 | 28:10.71 |
| 18 | Repair Management Aust Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VF | 12 | 28:10.98 |
| 19 | Valvoline Racing GRM | Robert Dahlgren | Volvo S60 | 12 | 28:12.52 |
| 20 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 12 | 28:19.71 |
| 21 | Erebus Motorsport V8 | Will Davison | Mercedes E63 AMG | 12 | 28:41.00 |
| DNF | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 4 | 12:03.06 |
| DNF | Wilson Security Racing | Scott Pye | Ford Falcon FG | 3 | 09:59.48 |
| DNF | Pepsi Max Crew | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | ||
| DNF | Team ADVAM / GB | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VF |
