In a historic opening race for the Gen3 regulations on the streets of Newcastle, Shane van Gisbergen has etched his name into the record books as the inaugural winner.
Van Gisbergen led a Red Bull Ampol Racing 1-2 ahead of Broc Feeney, with long-time title protagonist Cameron Waters third in his Monster Energy Racing Ford Mustang.
Polesitter Brodie Kostecki led early in his Coca-Cola by Erebus Chevrolet Camaro, but van Gisbergen was able to leap to the front during the opening round of pit stops as he was never headed to the chequered flag.
“I have to thank the team, one-two in our first race out,” van Gisbergen said.
“I have never been comfortable in this car, and the team’s done everything they can to make it better for me.
“I feel like a wobbler driving the thing, but the team’s given us two great cars. Tomorrow’s going to be tough, gotta come back and do it again.”
Kostecki ended up fifth after fading towards the end of the race, with Optus Mobil 1 Racing’s Chaz Mostert taking advantage to elevate himself ahead.
After just missing a Top 10 Shootout berth, Will Brown finished behind his teammate in sixth from R&J Batteries-supported Andre Heimgartner, DEWALT Racing’s Mark Winterbottom, Hino-backed Scott Pye and James Courtney in the Snowy River Racing Ford Mustang.
After an impressive performance from PremiAir in qualifying, both Nulon Racing Chevrolet Camaros struck trouble. Tim Slade was delayed by a stuck wheel nut and James Golding dropped back to 20th.
All bar one of the Gen3 Supercars finished the race as a suspension problem forced Nick percat in the NTI Mobil 1 Racing Ford Mustang out of the race.
The weekend of struggle continued for the Shell V-Power Racing Team after Anton De Pasquale was spun after a clash with Blanchard Racing Team’s Todd Hazelwood during the opening lap, finishing 18th. Teammate Will Davison finished in 13th.
The Repco Supercars Championship action continues with qualifying at 11:15am AEDT ahead of the Top 10 Shootout at 12:35pm AEDT and the second race from 3:20pm AEDT.