Shane van Gisbergen secured weekend honours for the Coates Hire V8 Supercars Challenge at Albert Park after fending off a determined Fabian Coulthard in Race 4.

Van Gisbergen controlled the double-file rolling start from pole and led every one of the 12 laps to take his third race win of the weekend.

While the previous two heats had been all Triple Eight affairs at the front, Coulthard and DJR Team Penske proved the wildcard in today’s battle.

Coulthard swept around the outside of Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes into Turn 1 on the opening lap to settle into second.

The Detroit backed Ford driver kept the pressure on his countryman for the bulk of the race before Van Gisbergen edged away in the closing stages.

“Yesterday we tried something that didn’t really work, so we tried another thing today to keep up with the track,” said Van Gisbergen.

“In the first few laps I thought we were in a bit of trouble. It took me a while to get the bars right but once the tyres came up I was able to drive away.

“Fabian was really pacey in those first couple of laps. I was enjoying holding him off. It was a good fight.”

Lowndes finished third after Whincup was forced to pull off the road at Turn 11 in the early laps with a mechanical issue.

James Courtney came home fourth after a spirited battle with Michael Caruso. The pair rubbed panels at Turn 1 on the final lap in a move that saw the Holden Racing Team driver take the place.

Garth Tander, Scott Pye, Rick Kelly, Chaz Mostert and Tim Slade completed the top 10.

Tander and Mostert were shuffled back when they made contact at Turn 4 on the second lap after the HRT driver attempted a lunge on Whincup for fourth.

Trying to make the most of Tander’s resulting loss of momentum, Mostert dived to the inside, resulting in side-to-side contact and a wild slide for the Ford.

Along with Whincup, David Reynolds was the race’s other retirement, pitting after contact with Chris Pither at Turn 1 on the opening lap.

“I held my line and he turned in hard from the outside,” said Reynolds.

“The impact broke a wheel and bent several things on the car.  There was nothing to gain staying out there”

Result: V8 Supercars Race 4, Albert Park

1

Red Bull Racing Australia

Shane Van Gisbergen

Holden Commodore VF

23:53.83

01:58.47

2

DJR Team Penske

Fabian Coulthard

Ford Falcon FG/X

23:55.09

01:58.53

3

Team Vortex

Craig Lowndes

Holden Commodore VF

23:56.62

01:58.56

4

Holden Racing Team

James Courtney

Holden Commodore VF

23:57.84

01:58.67

5

Nissan Motorsport

Michael Caruso

Nissan Altima

23:58.37

01:58.50

6

Holden Racing Team

Garth Tander

Holden Commodore VF

24:00.24

01:58.54

7

DJR Team Penske

Scott Pye

Ford Falcon FG/X

24:01.12

01:58.63

8

Nissan Motorsport

Rick Kelly

Nissan Altima

24:01.52

01:58.57

9

Supercheap Auto Racing

Chaz Mostert

Ford Falcon FG/X

24:03.87

01:58.51

10

Freightliner Racing

Tim Slade

Holden Commodore VF

24:04.22

01:58.91

11

The Bottle-O Racing Team

Mark Winterbottom

Ford Falcon FG/X

24:05.69

01:58.93

12

Wilson Security Racing GRM

Scott McLaughlin

Volvo S60

24:07.69

01:58.98

13

Team Darrell Lea STIX

Will Davison

Holden Commodore VF

24:08.11

01:59.27

14

Prodrive Racing Australia

Cameron Waters

Ford Falcon FG/X

24:10.27

01:59.43

15

LD Motorsports

Nick Percat

Holden Commodore VF

24:15.01

01:59.63

16

Wilson Security Racing GRM

James Moffat

Volvo S60

24:18.88

01:59.25

17

Team BOC

Jason Bright

Holden Commodore VF

24:19.46

01:59.81

18

GB Galvanizing Racing

Dale Wood

Nissan Altima

24:20.31

01:59.85

19

Preston Hire Racing

Lee Holdsworth

Holden Commodore VF

24:20.83

01:59.68

20

carsales Racing

Todd Kelly

Nissan Altima

24:21.43

01:59.97

21

Team Cooldrive

Tim Blanchard

Holden Commodore VF

24:22.11

02:00.00

22

LD Motorsports

Andre Heimgartner

Holden Commodore VF

24:22.49

02:00.16

23

Superblack Racing

Chris Pither

Ford Falcon FG/X

24:23.19

01:59.77

24

Plus Fitness Racing

Aaren Russell

Holden Commodore VF

24:29.73

02:00.57

DNF

Red Bull Racing Australia

Jamie Whincup

Holden Commodore VF

04:03.17

01:59.24

DNF

Erebus Motorsport Penrite

David Reynolds

Holden Commodore VF