Tander dominates Albert Park race 1
Garth Tander dominated race one of the Sprint Gas V8 Supercars Manufacturers Challenge at Albert Park as some of his rivals took each other out
Tander got a good start and had already opened a gap by the time he exited turn one.
From there on he was never troubled, despite a late-race safety car period for tyre bundles on the circuit. Tander's victory means that he once again secured the left-hand side of the grid for all the Holdens in race two.
The race was shortened by two laps because it had to be concluded by a specific time, having started about two minutes late. Even without the safety car, the race would still have finished a lap short of its 15 lap scheduled distance.
Will Davison took second place for Jim Beam Racing, after overtaking third-place finisher Rick Kelly on lap two. Both drivers benefitted from contact between Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards at turn 15 at the end of the first lap.
Richards dived down the inside at turn 15, and though Lowndes opened the door a little, it was not enough to prevent Richards making contact, both cars spun and Richards was lucky to avoid taking teammate Mark Winterbottom out in the process.
Richards retired to the pits with a puncture, while Lowndes dropped from second to 20th, but recovered to 13th by race's end. Completing the top five finishers were Tander's teammate Mark Skaife and the aforementioned Winterbottom.
Behind them in sixth was Team Vodafone's Jamie Whincup, who recovered from being edged off at turn 12 and fell to 14th before charging back up the order. In doing so, he made some aggressive passing moves, including a door-banging session as he forced his way past Jason Richards at turn 15.
He also made a diving move inside Russell Ingall after the restart on the final lap at turn four. The rear of Whincup's car and the front of Ingall's car making contact on the exit, causing the 2005 champion to run very wide, eventually finishing 14th with possible steering damage.
James Courtney and Jason Bright engaged in their own private duel just after half-distance. Courtney went by on the inside of turn four after Bright half-spun through the previous corner.
Then, at turn fifteen Courtney ran wide and allowed Bright to sneak back through, the pair making light contact on the exit. As Bright entered the final corner, Courtney dived for the inside but wasn't close enough to complete the pass, tipping Bright into a spin. Courtney was given a drivethrough penalty for the contact.
Pos Driver Make Time 1. Garth Tander Holden 27:54.4393 2. Will Davison Ford + 2.5938 3. Rick Kelly Holden + 2.9461 4. Mark Skaife Holden + 3.3496 5. Mark Winterbottom Ford + 3.7003 6. Jamie Whincup Ford + 6.3947 7. Steven Johnson Ford + 6.9646 8. Cameron McConville Holden + 7.3975 9. Jason Richards Holden + 7.7918 10. Greg Murphy Holden + 8.0583 11. Lee Holdsworth Holden + 8.6749 12. Andrew Jones Holden + 8.8250 13. Craig Lowndes Ford + 9.0204 14. Russell Ingall Holden + 9.3946 15. Shane Van Gisbergen Ford + 9.4928 16. Todd Kelly Holden + 10.1952 17. Shane Price Holden + 11.5127 18. Tony D'Alberto Holden + 12.0291 19. Paul Dumbrell Holden + 12.2065 20. Fabian Coulthard Ford + 12.4057 21. Michael Patrizi Ford + 12.7831 22. Andrew Thompson Holden + 13.8012 23. Jason Bright Ford + 14.6502 24. James Courtney Ford + 14.9044 25. Michael Caruso Holden + 15.4333 26. Marcus Marshall Ford + 22.1015 Not classified/retirements: Driver Make Laps Paul Morris Holden 6 Kayne Scott Ford 5 Steven Richards Ford 0
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