Jamie Whincup took first blood in an opening sprint race at Pukekohe that was punctuated by an early red flag.

Starting from the outside of the front-row, Whincup beat pole-sitting team-mate Shane van Gisbergen to the first corner and was never headed for the duration.

The Kiwi had a lunge at Turn 4 on the opening lap but proved unable to keep pace with the #88 Holden thereafter.

As a result, the six-time champion trimmed Van Gisbergen’s series lead by six points to 142 with five races now remaining in the season.

“The car is obviously quick,” said Whincup after taking the flag 6.5s clear.

“We’ve just got to make sure we keep tuning it as the races go on.”

The race was halted on its third lap after side-to-side contact between Jason Bright and Chris Pither on the run to the final complex of corners speared the former into the concrete wall.

Bright’s Holden eventually came to rest broadside across the pit entry, forcing the red flags that required the remaining 25 cars to park on the front straight.

Pither was handed a drive-through for the incident shortly after the restart as Bright’s Team BOC crew assessed the damage ahead of the afternoon’s second race.

While external cameras did not capture the clash, onboard from Bright’s car indicated Pither had bounced off the inside kerb and into his rival.

CLICK HERE for more from Bright and Pither.

Eventual third and fourth places finishers Scott McLaughlin and Mark Winterbottom made side-to-side contact of their own on the opening lap.

Both managed to keep their cars on the road despite bashing panels through the Turn 2/3 complex.

Garth Tander, James Courtney and Rick Kelly started and finished fifth through seventh, while Michael Caruso, Scott Pye and Will Davison completed the top 10.

Tenth place starter Chaz Mostert ran eighth before running off at the hairpin on lap 10 of 35, dropping the Supercheap Ford to the rear of the field.

Although a quiet race up front, Dale Wood was in the thick of the action further back in the pack.

Wood ultimately pitted with front-end damage after a dive from James Moffat at Turn 5 saw the Volvo slither through the grass and rejoin on the exit of Turn 6 right in the path of the Nissan.

Wood also had two bouts of minor contact with team boss Todd Kelly during the race as the veteran battled with damage of his own.

A second 100km race will take place from 1645 local time.

Result: Virgin Australia Supercars Championship ITM Auckland Super Sprint Race 24