Trent Young ignited his Aussie Racing Cars title hopes with victory in the opening encounter of the Castrol Edge Gold Coast 600.

Young made the most of a clean getaway from the front row but faced a stern challenge from Kyle Clews with the lead changing hands as the race reached the halfway point.

The battle soon came to an end when Simon Smith collided with Clews at Turn 1 on lap six which gave Young a relatively easy run to the chequered flag.

Polesitter Hayden Stephensen finished in second after battling back from a poor start, while Smith claimed the final podium position in third.

Young made no mistakes at the start as he streamed into the lead but there was drama for Stephenson as he bogged down before eventually getting going in sixth spot.

Despite a brief Safety Car period for a two car incident on the opening lap, Young led the way from the restart before coming under immense pressure from Clews.

The lead son changed hands on lap five before Young burst through on the run down to Turn 1 on the next tour.

Smith was in hot pursuit of the pair behind and made contact with the out of position Clews, sending him into the barriers.

This allowed a recovering Stephensen to pounce as he slipped into second spot.

But there was no stopping Young  as he took the chequered flag by 1.3s from Stephenson and Smith.

The victory has boosted Young’s championship hopes with series leader Darren Chamberlin absent from the meeting.

The Aussies Racing Cars will return to the track on Saturday for another 12 lap race beginning at 11am (Queensland time).

Aussie Racing Cars Race 1 Result