James Moffat claimed his and the Nissan Altima's first V8 Supercars victory as he led home team-mate Michael Caruso to a one-two finish at Winton.

The duo looked set to snatch a historic pole for the team but were demoted in the dying seconds of qualifying by current championship leader Jamie Whincup.

The Triple Eight driver made a good start to the race and enjoyed an early advantage over both Nissans before disaster struck upon completion of the ninth lap when he was forced to retired with a gearbox malfunction.

This opened the door for Caruso to take control of the race, with Moffat and Mark Winterbottom in close pursuit until the half-time interval.

The Nissans then swapped position on the restart as Moffat made the better getaway after his team-mate missed a gear as they accelerated away.

The 29-year-old went on to lead every lap of the second encounter and took the chequered flag 0.807s ahead of Caruso, to give Nissan its first victory in the series for 21 years.

Jason Bright gained four positions to cross the finishing line in third position, ahead of Mark Winterbottom who he displaced on lap 21.

Fifth went to James Courtney, whose podium-finishing roll came to an end after twice claiming second and third in the last eight races.

Title challenger Craig Lowndes experienced a torrid afternoon following a rollbar failure in qualifying.

He lined up 15th and ultimately finished in 21st place having suffered from a lack of grip.

Results - 40 laps:

Pos  Driver               Team/Car                        Time/Gap
 1.  James Moffat         Nissan                     1h22m06.5120s
 2.  Michael Caruso       Nissan                          +0.8076s
 3.  Jason Bright         Brad Jones Holden               +5.4828s
 4.  Mark Winterbottom    FPR Ford                        +6.1253s
 5.  James Courtney       HRT Holden                      +6.3837s
 6.  Will Davison         FPR Ford                       +11.0251s
 7.  Fabian Coulthard     Brad Jones Holden              +13.8307s
 8.  Garth Tander         HRT Holden                     +18.0194s
 9.  Russell Ingall       Walkinshaw/HRT Holden          +18.3448s
10.  David Reynolds       Rod Nash/FPR Ford              +20.0609s
11.  Tony D'Alberto       D'Alberto Holden               +22.9482s
12.  Scott Pye            Dumbrell Holden                +25.1893s
13.  Shane van Gisbergen  Tekno Holden                   +26.1160s
14.  Rick Kelly           Nissan                         +26.8501s
15.  Alex Davison         Schwerkolt/FPR Ford            +28.0811s
16.  Chaz Mostert         Dick Johnson Ford              +28.8134s
17.  Alexandre Premat     GRM Holden                     +28.8964s
18.  Maro Engel           Erebus Mercedes                +29.0834s
19.  Scott McLaughlin     GRM Holden                     +31.5529s
20.  Jonathon Webb        Tekno Holden                   +32.1003s
21.  Craig Lowndes        Triple Eight Holden            +32.4877s
22.  Tim Slade            Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes      +32.6408s
23.  David Wall           Britek/BJR Holden              +35.0247s
24.  Todd Kelly           Nissan                         +35.2207s
25.  Dean Fiore           Dumbrell Holden                +35.3934s
26.  Lee Holdsworth       Erebus Mercedes                +35.5746s
27.  Tim Blanchard        Dick Johnson Ford              +36.1073s

Retirements:

     Jamie Whincup        Triple Eight Holden               9 laps