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Jamie Whincup turned the tables on his Triple Eight team-mates by storming to a commanding victory in the third V8 Supercars race of the weekend at Albert Park.
Pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen held out team-mates Craig Lowndes and Whincup off the start, putting him in a strong position to claim his third win of the weekend.
Whincup had other ideas, however, moving to second at Turn 3 on the opening lap as Lowndes bumped Van Gisbergen and lost momentum.
Six-time champion Whincup then pulled a decisive move for the lead into Turn 1 on the second lap, narrowly avoiding running off on the exit.
Van Gisbergen ranged down the outside as he attempted to reverse the positions two corners later, but found himself losing second to Lowndes as minor contact shuffled him wide.
Light rain during the early stages added to the excitement as the slick-shod field jostled for position.
Whincup was untouchable in the tricky conditions, pulling away to an eventual 6.6s victory.
Van Gisbergen spent the remainder of the race fending off Lowndes, who was clearly faster in the closing laps but could not find a way by.
Garth Tander snuck through on Ford duo Fabian Coulthard and Chaz Mostert in the opening corners to be fourth; a position he held until the end.
Coulthard led home Mostert to claim fifth, while seventh through 10th was filled by James Courtney, Michael Caruso, Tim Slade and Rick Kelly.
Scott McLaughlin was running seventh in the closing stages before low engine oil pressure saw him fall off the road and out of the race at Turn 14.
Others in the wars included team-mate James Moffat and Brad Jones Racing’s Jason Bright, who were both forced to pit following the opening lap.
Todd Kelly earlier pulled off on the warm-up lap with smoke pouring from his Nissan; a fate that also befell the team owner in Practice 1 and Race 1.
Cameron Waters was meanwhile on track for a 13th place finish before serving a drive-through penalty for contact with Will Davison.
A fourth and final V8 Supercars race will take place from 1220 tomorrow.
Result: V8 Supercars Race 3, Albert Park
1 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 23:47.62 | 01:57.62 |
2 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 23:54.22 | 01:57.82 |
3 | Team Vortex | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 23:54.50 | 1:57.4613* |
4 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 23:55.11 | 01:58.23 |
5 | DJR Team Penske | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG/X | 23:57.77 | 01:58.21 |
6 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG/X | 23:58.32 | 01:58.29 |
7 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 23:58.84 | 01:58.11 |
8 | Nissan Motorsport | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 23:59.12 | 01:58.11 |
9 | Freightliner Racing | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 24:03.33 | 01:58.42 |
10 | Nissan Motorsport | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 24:05.13 | 01:58.86 |
11 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG/X | 24:05.74 | 01:58.81 |
12 | DJR Team Penske | Scott Pye | Ford Falcon FG/X | 24:06.40 | 01:58.33 |
13 | Superblack Racing | Chris Pither | Ford Falcon FG/X | 24:11.33 | 01:59.18 |
14 | Preston Hire Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VF | 24:12.35 | 01:59.15 |
15 | Erebus Motorsport Penrite | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VF | 24:12.69 | 01:58.86 |
16 | GB Galvanizing Racing | Dale Wood | Nissan Altima | 24:14.06 | 01:59.44 |
17 | Team Cooldrive | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VF | 24:14.65 | 01:59.12 |
18 | LD Motorsports | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 24:15.05 | 01:59.38 |
19 | Team Darrell Lea STIX | Will Davison | Holden Commodore VF | 24:17.64 | 01:59.06 |
20 | LD Motorsports | Andre Heimgartner | Holden Commodore VF | 24:20.29 | 02:00.10 |
21 | Plus Fitness Racing | Aaren Russell | Holden Commodore VF | 24:22.94 | 02:00.00 |
22 | Prodrive Racing Australia | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG/X | 24:46.62 | 01:58.57 |
23 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | James Moffat | Volvo S60 | 25:18.72 | 01:58.08 |
DNF | Wilson Security Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Volvo S60 | 10:07.35 | 01:58.84 |
DNF | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 02:21.00 | 02:21.00 |
DNF | carsales Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima |
