V8 Supercars Surfers Paradise: David Reynolds takes first win

Reynolds, driving a Rod Nash Racing Falcon run in conjunction with Ford Performance Racing, hounded leader James Courtney throughout the final third of the race and inherited the lead when the Holden Racing Team driver retired with 16 laps to go.

Fabian Coulthard charged from 16th on the grid to finish second after fighting a rearguard action in the closing laps to fend off Russell Ingall, competing in his final race on the Gold Coast as a full-time driver.

Jamie Whincup chased that pair home in fourth to close Triple Eight team-mate Craig Lowndes' championship advantage to just six points.

Reynolds led from pole early on and engaged in a race-long battle with Courtney, as the race's main protagonists opted for different strategies when the safety car emerged to deal with Scott McLaughlin's stricken Garry Rodgers Holden on lap 21.

Reynolds and Courtney pitted, handing over to their respective co-drivers Dean Canto and Greg Murphy, but Whincup's driving partner Paul Dumbrell continued, as did Warren Luff in the #888 Commodore.

Murphy passed Canto for the lead at mid-distance but just as he had opened up a five-second gap, the safety car emerged again.

Scott Pye, attempting to get out of the way of Lowndes, ran wide exiting the Turn 7/8 complex and clipped a tyre barrier.

That pushed him back across track in front of a helpless Shane van Gisbergen, who smashed hard into his rear (pictured).

Luff was then forced to wait behind Dumbrell in the Triple Eight pits and while Whincup took over and rejoined fifth, Lowndes had tumbled to 16th.

After the restart, Coulthard nipped past Ingall for third as Courtney and Reynolds took back the leading cars and quickly made their escape from a train of cars behind.

But as the race reached its climax Courtney thumped the kerbs at Turn 7 too hard and broke his car's steering - a mistake replicated shortly after by James Moffat, who had been running in the top six.

As Reynolds nursed his car to the flag, Coulthard, Ingall, Whincup and Lee Holdsworth squabbled over second but finished in that order.

Rick Kelly and Garth Tander were also part of the lead train, just ahead of Lowndes.

He was comfortably the fastest driver on the circuit as he attempted to progress through the field, and though he briefly found resistance when he reached Will Davison in 10th, he made the most of the late drama to salvage eighth.

Results - 102 laps:

Pos  Drivers                    Team/Car                        Time/Gap
 1.  Reynolds/Canto             Rod Nash/FPR Ford          2h12m10.6077s
 2.  Coulthard/Youlden          Brad Jones Holden                +1.184s  
 3.  Ingall/Briscoe             Walkinshaw/HRT Holden            +1.793s  
 4.  Dumbrell/Whincup           Triple Eight Holden              +2.486s  
 5.  Holdsworth/Baird           Erebus Mercedes                  +2.920s  
 6.  Kelly/Reindler             Nissan                           +3.475s  
 7.  Tander/Percat              HRT Holden                       +3.791s  
 8.  Lowndes/Luff               Triple Eight Holden              +4.417s  
 9.  Davison/Owen               FPR Ford                         +6.088s  
10.  Caruso/Gaunt               Nissan                           +6.725s  
11.  Mostert/Wood               Dick Johnson Ford                +8.126s  
12.  Wall/Pither                Britek/BJR Holden               +25.543s  
13.  Davison/McIntyre           FPR Ford                        +25.854s  
14.  Premat/Ritter              Garry Rogers Holden             +35.549s  
15.  Blanchard/Walsh            Dick Johnson Ford               +43.592s  
16.  Webb/Lieb                  Tekno Holden                    +44.741s  
17.  Winterbottom/Richards      FPR Ford                      +1m04.003s
18.  Fiore/Halliday             Dumbrell Holden                    1 lap
19.  Slade/Brabham              Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes          1 lap
20.  D'Alberto/Reid             D'Alberto Holden                  3 laps
21.  Engel/Johnson              Erebus Mercedes                   3 laps
22.  McLaughlin/Perkins         Garry Rogers Holden               5 laps
                                                                 10 laps
Retirements:                                                            
                                                                        
     Moffat/Douglas             Nissan                           88 laps
     Courtney/Murphy            HRT Holden                       86 laps
     Pye/Morris                 Dumbrell Holden                  64 laps
     Van Gisbergen/Bleekemolen  Tekno Holden                     63 laps
     Kelly/Russell              Nissan                           27 laps