Second place in the final race of the weekend was enough for Ash Walsh to score a maiden Dunlop Series round victory at Barbagallo.
The Matt Stone Racing Ford driver started Race 3 on pole position courtesy of his first and fifth place finishes from the opening two encounters and led the opening 17 laps of the 20 lap finale.
Dale Wood eventually proved too strong for Walsh as the laps wound down, eventually sneaking by at Kolb Corner.
The MW Motorsport Ford had started from second on the grid but dropped behind Taz Douglas and Daniel Gaunt thanks to a poor start.
Wood recovered to second by the eighth lap before chasing down Walsh to secure a second career victory.
Douglas challenged Walsh early but faded to come home third ahead of Gaunt, Kristian Lindbom, Paul Morris, Andrew Jones, Jack Perkins, Cameron Waters and Steve Owen.
Click here to find out how.
Jones was demoted to 15th post-race however thanks to a five second penalty for a false start.
Casey Stoner meanwhile spent the entire journey in the heart of the squabbling pack, starting and finishing 21st.
The 27-year-old’s race including a dice with Josh Hunter that eventually saw the Finance Ezi Ford dispatched into the Turn 6 sand trap.
Walsh now leads the standings by 18 points from Wood after two of seven rounds.
“I am really happy to get my first round win and be in the title hunt,” said Walsh, whose weekend had been hindered by losing two tyres after an incident in qualifying.
“We were in a major tyre battle over the weekend so to put the three races together to get this result is very satisfying.
“It is a long way to go but I think we are really in contention now for the Dunlop Series title.”
See below for the full Race 3 result
| 1 | GB Galvanizing/Wilson Security | Dale Wood | Ford Falcon FG | 20 | 19:43.9916 |
| 2 | Infants Friend | Ashley Walsh | Ford Falcon FG | 20 | 19:45.2189 |
| 3 | Arvo – Image Racing | Taz Douglas | Ford Falcon FG | 20 | 19:51.9931 |
| 4 | Global Security Management | Daniel Gaunt | Holden Commodore VE2 | 20 | 19:53.5454 |
| 5 | Ozstaff Racing | Kristian Lindbom | Ford Falcon FG | 20 | 19:53.9028 |
| 6 | Sargent Security Racing | Paul Morris | Holden Commodore VE2 | 20 | 20:02.1034 |
| 7 | Eggleston Motorsport | Jack Perkins | Holden Commodore VE | 20 | 20:04.7247 |
| 8 | Linde Material Handling | Cameron Waters | Holden Commodore VE2 | 20 | 20:04.9361 |
| 9 | Sherrin Rentals MWM | Steve Owen | Ford Falson FG | 20 | 20:05.1647 |
| 10 | R&J Batteries/NDD | Geoff Emery | Holden Commodore VE2 | 20 | 20:05.5944 |
| 11 | I Seek | George Miedecke | Ford Falcon FG | 20 | 20:07.2147 |
| 12 | Go Karts Go | Drew Russell | Ford Falcon FG | 20 | 20:07.3112 |
| 13 | CEG Rentals | Aaren Russell | Ford Falcon FG | 20 | 20:08.0348 |
| 14 | Tony D’Alberto Racing | Nick McBride | Ford Falcon FG | 20 | 20:08.7254 |
| 15 | Advam Racing | Andrew Jones | Holden Commodore VE2 | 20 | 20:09.5076 |
| 16 | Rodney Jane Racing | Gary Jacobson | Ford Falcon FG | 20 | 20:11.3260 |
| 17 | Brad Jones Racing | Chris Pither | Holden Commodore VE2 | 20 | 20:11.5522 |
| 18 | Miraflores Estate Harbour Exca | Morgan Haber | Ford Falcon FG | 20 | 20:12.0186 |
| 19 | Rodney Jane Racing | Rodney Jane | Ford Falcon FG | 20 | 20:13.6118 |
| 20 | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Casey Stoner | Holden Commodore VE2 | 20 | 20:13.7033 |
| 21 | Blackchrome Sports & Workwear | Sam Walter | Holden Commodore VE2 | 20 | 20:16.3128 |
| 22 | Action Racing | Marcus Zukanovic | Holden Commodore VE | 20 | 20:22.0898 |
| 23 | Formula Tech/Interquip Racing | Brett Stewart | Holden Commodore VE | 20 | 20:25.8983 |
| 24 | Finance Ezi Racing | Andre Heimgartner | Ford Falcon FG | 20 | 20:26.3193 |
| 25 | Finance Ezi Racing | Josh Hunter | Ford Falocon FG | 20 | 20:30.4064 |
| 26 | Poll Performance | Jim Pollicina | Holden Commodore VE | 20 | 20:30.9051 |
| 27 | Freightliner | Aaron Tebb | Holden Commodore VE2 | 20 | 20:35.0255 |
| 28 | Resi | Aaron McGill | Holden Commodore VE2 | 17 | 19:59.9381 |
| 29 | Gulf Western Oil | Michael Hector | Ford Falcon FG | 15 | 20:06.6585 |
| DNF | Pacific Hoists & Hitachi | Nandi Kiss | Holden Commodore VE | 19 | 19:43.7378 |
See below for the full round result
| 1 | Ashley Walsh | 274 |
| 2 | Dale Wood | 268 |
| 3 | Taz Douglas | 235 |
| 4 | Daniel Gaunt | 225 |
| 5 | Kristian Lindbom | 208 |
| 6 | Paul Morris | 207 |
| 7 | Jack Perkins | 204 |
| 8 | George Miedecke | 175 |
| 9 | Andrew Jones | 172 |
| 10 | Cameron Waters | 169 |
| 11 | Drew Russell | 142 |
| 12 | Gary Jacobson | 133 |
| 13 | Geoff Emery | 125 |
| 14 | Nick McBride | 125 |
| 15 | Chris Pither | 122 |
| 16 | Morgan Haber | 120 |
| 17 | Aaren Russell | 112 |
| 18 | Rodney Jane | 104 |
| 19 | Steve Owen | 99 |
| 20 | Marcus Zukanovic | 89 |
| 21 | Casey Stoner | 86 |
| 22 | Sam Walter | 81 |
| 23 | Josh Hunter | 79 |
| 24 | Brett Stewart | 68 |
| 25 | Andre Heimgartner | 65 |
| 26 | Jim Pollicina | 57 |
| 27 | Michael Hector | 50 |
| 28 | Aaron Tebb | 30 |
| 29 | Nandi Kiss | 30 |
| 30 | Aaron McGill | 17 |
See below for the updated points standings after Round 2 of 7
| 1 | Ashley Walsh | 553 |
| 2 | Dale Wood | 535 |
| 3 | Kristian Lindbom | 439 |
| 4 | Taz Douglas | 415 |
| 5 | Daniel Gaunt | 399 |
| 6 | George Miedecke | 367 |
| 7 | Cameron Waters | 337 |
| 8 | Andrew Jones | 322 |
| 9 | Drew Russell | 316 |
| 10 | Aaren Russell | 298 |
| 11 | Chaz Mostert | 288 |
| 12 | Geoff Emery | 266 |
| 13 | Gary Jacobson | 253 |
| 14 | Rodney Jane | 227 |
| 15 | Paul Morris | 207 |
| 16 | Jack Perkins | 204 |
| 17 | Andre Heimgartner | 203 |
| 18 | Marcus Zukanovic | 191 |
| 19 | Sam Walter | 171 |
| 20 | Nick McBride | 170 |
| 21 | Josh Hunter | 169 |
| 22 | Morgan Haber | 168 |
| 23 | Casey Stoner | 149 |
| 24 | Brett Stewart | 134 |
| 25 | Chris Pither | 133 |
| 26 | Jay Verdnik | 117 |
| 27 | Michael Hector | 107 |
| 28 | Steve Owen | 99 |
| 29 | Adam Wallis | 84 |
| 30 | Jim Pollicina | 84 |
| 31 | Chris Alajajian | 81 |
| 32 | Aaron Tebb | 69 |
| 33 | Aaron McGill | 50 |
| 34 | Nandi Kiss | 30 |
