Jamie Whincup ended his Supercars winless streak as he overcame Scott McLaughlin to win Race 14 at the Watpac Townsville 400.

The Red Bull Holden driver produced a faultless drive to hold off DJR Team Penske’s McLaughlin as the six-time champion made the most of a slick undercut pit strategy.

Whincup assumed the lead after the first round of pit stops which he was able to maintain after the final trip to pit lane.

McLaughlin was unable too match the pace of Whincup in the final 20 laps with his task hindered by a cool suit failure.

In the end, Whincup took the flag to claim his first win of the season, which equaled Craig Lowndes’s all time championship win record of 105 victories.

“It took a while, but what a relief. I’ve been trying to get a win this year, it’s been bloody tough, and as always, it was tough again,” said Whincup.

“Scotty’s thing’s a rocket but we dug deep today, guys did a great job, the car was quick, we gave it absolutely everything we had, and I’d like to think we deserve this one.”

McLaughlin was 1.6s adrift in second while Shane Van Gisbergen drove a solid race to third.

Whincup’s triumph cut the McLaughlin’s championship lead to six points as Fabian Coulthard dropped 158 points back in third, after an eventful race saw him finish in 21st spot.

McLaughlin converted his pole position into the lead but he was forced to defend from a fast starting David Reynolds, who shot from third to challenge the Ford heading into Turn 2.

Whincup slotted into third ahead of van Gisbergen, who slid from second to fourth.

Mark Winterbottom occupied fifth ahead of Chaz Mostert, while Coulthard dropped from 12th to 18th after running wide on the exit of Turn 6.

The Kiwi endured an eventful opening lap as he made contact with Lowndes on two occasions at the hairpin. Lowndes responded by tapping the rear of the DJRTP Ford at Turn 13.

Coulthard was involved in more contact shortly after when he slid into the rear of Tim Slade at the final corner, spinning the Brad Jones Racing Commodore in the process.

Stewards handed the former series leader a 15 second time penalty which he would serve in his first pit stop.

Meanwhile at the front, Reynolds began to struggle for pace as he lost second to Whincup and fell to ninth in a matter of laps before ducking into the pits on lap 12.

McLaughlin continued to edge away at the front from Whincup but it was the latter who was the first to pit.

Triple Eight elected to complete the undercut on leader McLaughlin, who pitted a lap after Whincup.

McLaughlin, who took on 54 litres of fuel, initially rejoined in the lead but Whincup managed to dive by at Turn 2 to take the effective lead.

Whincup took on six litres of fuel less than McLaughlin in his stop.

Following the first round of stops, Whincup led McLaughlin with van Gisbergen third ahead of Winterbottom, Mostert, Reynolds and Garth Tander (Garry Rogers Motorsport).

At the front, Whincup managed to extend his lead to 2.3s before diving into the pits on lap 41 for his final stop.

He was followed into the pits by van Gisbergen in third and second-placed McLaughlin a lap later.

McLaughlin rejoined the race narrowly behind Whincup to set up a thrilling battle for the leaders as van Gisbergen filed back into third.

Once settled back into a rhythm, McLaughlin began to chip away at Whincup’s advantage before the latter responded by opening up a 1.2s lead as the race reached its final 20 laps.

The gap came down through traffic but McLaughlin, who was battling a cool suit failure, couldn’t challenge Whincup for the win.

Prodrive’s solid return continued with Winterbottom driving home to fourth from Mostert.

Garry Rogers Motorsport also impressed with Tander sixth and James Moffat seventh, having started from 16th spot .

A late charge from Tekno Autosports’ Will Davison saw him claim eighth as Courtney scored his first top 10 since the Clipsal 500 season opener in ninth.

An eventful race from Lowndes saw him overcome several moments of contact to finish 10th from 21st on the grid.

After such a promising start, Reynolds finished in 11th position.

Slade was the only retirement from the race after suffering an engine failure.

Results: Virgin Australia Supercars Championship: Watpac Townsville 400: Race 14

Championship Standings