Pukekohe V8 Supercars: Jason Bright wins opening race
Jason Bright took his first V8 Supercars win in 12 months as he triumphed in the opening race of the Pukekohe quadruple-header
Polesitter Bright was comfortably beaten away by champion Jamie Whincup at the lights, but the Triple Eight Holden struck power steering issues at one-third distance, slewing off the road and then pitting.
Brad Jones Holden driver Bright then kept Shane van Gisbergen's Tekno Holden at bay to end a victory drought that stretched back to the 2013 event at the New Zealand track.
Championship leader Craig Lowndes came third despite shooting down the Turn 5 escape road late on.
James Courtney, Will Davison and Nick Percat completed the top six.
Mark Winterbottom, winner of the previous race at Winton, was seventh until a spin in the closing laps put him down to 13th and meant Ford had no cars in the top dozen. He had crashed in qualifying and started back in 10th.
The race ran to the 40-minute time limit after a long early safety car period, triggered by David Wall crashing at the final corner in a clash with Chaz Mostert. The damage has ruled Wall's Dick Johnson Ford out of the rest of the weekend.
Results - 33 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden 40m48.3124s
2. Shane van Gisbergen Tekno Holden +1.6796s
3. Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Holden +4.8554s
4. James Courtney HRT Holden +5.5961s
5. Will Davison Erebus Mercedes +6.1556s
6. Nick Percat Walkinshaw/HRT Holden +7.1594s
7. Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Holden +10.0857s
8. Scott McLaughlin GRM Volvo +13.8858s
9. Garth Tander HRT Holden +17.5205s
10. James Moffat Nissan +18.0826s
11. Tim Slade Rosenberg/HRT Holden +18.5292s
12. Lee Holdsworth Erebus Mercedes +19.0799s
13. Mark Winterbottom FPR Ford +19.5140s
14. David Reynolds Rod Nash/FPR Ford +20.5948s
15. Russell Ingall Dumbrell Holden +21.2168s
16. Todd Kelly Nissan +22.2305s
17. Michael Caruso Nissan +23.3799s
18. Scott Pye Dick Johnson Ford +24.1073s
19. Jack Perkins Schwerkolt/FPR Ford +24.4345s
20. Rick Kelly Nissan +26.1984s
21. Chaz Mostert FPR Ford +26.6033s
22. Robert Dahlgren GRM Volvo +37.4217s
23. Dale Wood Britek/BJR Holden +1 lap
24. Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Holden +7 laps
Retirements:
David Wall Dick Johnson Ford 1 lap
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