Shane van Gisbergen took victory in the opening V8 Supercars race at Albert Park, streaking away from a squabbling pack in the 10 lap encounter.

The Kiwi had ducked to the inside of pole-sitter Michael Caruso to snatch the lead into Turn 1 after the double-file rolling start.

Fourth-placed qualifier Jamie Whincup made it to second by Turn 3, looking to have the fastest car over the opening laps.

A battle between Whincup and Scott McLaughlin however soon allowed Van Gisbergen to pull away, with the Tekno Holden going on to win by a commanding 6.2s.

“It was a good start and we got to the lead but we didn’t have any grip and Whincup was all over me,” said Van Gisbergen afterward.

“Then the car came on and we left them.

“We’ve tried some stuff this weekend that seems to be working but I think Volvo and Caruso were pretty quick cars so it would have been interesting to see what pace they had if they were right behind us.

“We’ll see how we go in the hotter conditions this afternoon.”

Whincup received a bad sportsmanship flag early in the second place battle having squeezed McLaughlin onto the grass on the inside of the main straight.

The Red Bull Holden eventually steadied the ship to take second from McLaughlin and Caruso.

Fabian Coulthard and Garth Tander completed the top six, with the latter taking Craig Lowndes on the penultimate lap.

Second through 11th ran in a tight pack for the entire 10 laps, although passes proved few and far between.

Further back in the pack, Mark Winterbottom drove through from 18th on the grid to finish 13th in his Ford Performance Racing Falcon.

Jason Bright was 14th having lost three places with an off at Turn 3 during the early going.

David Reynolds was the only real victim of the tight racing in the early laps, spinning at Turn 3 and rejoining to finish last.

Race 2, to be contested over 12 laps, will take place at 1425.

See below for the full Race 1 result