Melbourne V8 Supercars: Shane van Gisbergen wins race three

The Tekno Autosports driver started ninth after his impressive charge from the lower reaches of the grid in Friday afternoon's race following a gearbox problem in the opener, but it did not take him long to climb into the lead.

The New Zealander was up to fifth by the exit of the first corner and by Turn 3 had picked off both David Reynolds and Will Davison to run third.

With Fabian Coulthard, who had won the first two races of the quadruple header, and Craig Lowndes running side by side through Turns 13 and 14, van Gisbergen reeled them in during the second half of the lap.

When Lowndes attempted to go around the outside of Coulthard at Turn 15, the latter gave him as little room as possible at turn-in and van Gisbergen took second as the Triple 8 driver took to the grass.

Van Gisbergen then took the lead from Coulthard up the inside of Turn 1, only to skate off the track a few corners later and drop down to third.

But such was van Gisbergen's speed that it did not take him long to recover.

At Turn 3 a lap later, he passed Coulthard for second after his compatriot had cut across the grass at the first corner, a mistake that handed Lowndes the lead.

Lowndes then had a spectacular tail-out moment exiting the fast Turn 13 right-hander, which allowed van Gisbergen to get a run and pass him for the lead.

Van Gisbergen was never again challenged, dropping Lowndes and crossing the line almost 13 seconds clear despite losing time with some sideways showboating in the final corner as he approached the chequered flag amid a late-race downpour.

Jonathon Webb made it a double podium finish for Tekno Autosports with third after Coulthard lost time with a second off, the New Zealander eventually finishing fourth.

David Reynolds survived his own off-track moment to take fifth ahead of Brad Jones Racing's Jason Bright, who had started second but dropped down the order at the start thanks to wheelspin.

Behind James Courtney and Will Davison, Michael Caruso prevailed after a second half of the race during which the four Nissan Altima drivers indulged in some spectacular battling.

He finished ahead of Todd and Rick Kelly, with James Moffat dropping to 17th having previously been in the thick of the all-Nissan battle until a spin while battling with Jamie Whincup and Scott Pye at the penultimate corner a few laps from home.

Coulthard's fourth place means that he heads into Sunday's final race of the non-championship event with a 21-point lead over team-mate Bright.

Update: Coulthard gets win following exclusions

Results - 12 laps:

Pos  Driver               Team/Car                       Time/Gap
 1.  Shane van Gisbergen  Tekno Holden                27m08.3375s
 2.  Craig Lowndes        Triple 8 Holden              + 12.6072s
 3.  Jonathon Webb        Tekno Holden                 + 16.3445s
 4.  Fabian Coulthard     Brad Jones Holden            + 21.1064s
 5.  David Reynolds       Rod Nash/FPR Ford            + 21.7928s
 6.  Jason Bright         Brad Jones Holden            + 30.8568s
 7.  James Courtney       HRT Holden                   + 31.8667s
 8.  Will Davison         FPR Ford                     + 32.2297s
 9.  Michael Caruso       Nissan                       + 35.0509s
10.  Todd Kelly           Nissan                       + 37.6428s
11.  Rick Kelly           Nissan                       + 41.0712s
12.  Mark Winterbottom    FPR Ford                     + 41.2138s
13.  Jamie Whincup        Triple 8 Holden              + 43.3936s
14.  Dean Fiore           Dumbrell Holden              + 44.8540s
15.  Russell Ingall       Walkinshaw/HRT Holden        + 46.8156s
16.  Alex Davison         Schwerkolt/FPR Ford          + 47.0509s
17.  James Moffat         Nissan                       + 49.3929s
18.  Scott Pye            Dumbrell Holden              + 49.6502s
19.  Tim Blanchard        DJR Ford                     + 53.1394s
20.  David Wall           Britek/BJR Holden            + 57.9757s
21.  Tony D'Alberto       D'Alberto Holden             + 58.7163s
22.  Jonny Reid           DJR Ford                   + 1m04.4576s
23.  Lee Holdsworth       Erebus Mercedes            + 1m05.2461s
24.  Scott McLaughlin     GRM Holden                 + 1m10.8836s
25.  Tim Slade            Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes  + 1m24.9520s

Retirements:

     Maro Engel           Erebus Mercedes                  8 laps
     Garth Tander         HRT Holden                        1 lap