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