Mark Winterbottom rounded off the Winton V8 Supercars weekend with a commanding victory in race three.
The FPR Ford driver made the best of starts, but found himself with nowhere to go as he got stuck behind pole man Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen, before the latter pitted on lap six as he struggled for grip. Unleashed, Winterbottom began to reel in the race leader and eventually passed McLaughlin at Turn 10 after a 14-lap pursuit.
The pair then made their stops a lap later and while Winterbottom reclaimed the lead, the GRM Volvo driver slotted behind an out-of-sync Tim Slade.
McLaughlin was later handed a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane, which the Kiwi duly served on lap 32 and tumbled down the order as a result.
Winterbottom then had Fabian Coulthard for close comfort and the race leaders made their second pit stops in unison on lap 48. The race one winner, however, was then handed the fifth drive-through penalty of the race and subsequently fell out of contention of a probable podium finish.
His pain was James Courtney’s gain, but he could not match the performance of Winterbottom who, after an imperious drive, finished 9.4 seconds ahead of the chasing pack.
Tim Slade joined his HRT Holden teammate on the podium – his first this season – after an impressive showing by the young charger, who gained five positions during the race. He finished 9sec ahead of Jason Bright and David Reynolds, who squabbled for fifth in the final laps of the race.
Series leader Lowndes came home seventh while Triple Eight teammate Jamie Whincup was forced to fend off Coulthard for 10th.
Results - 67 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Mark Winterbottom FPR Ford 1h36m23.4427s
2. James Courtney HRT Holden 9.4911s
3. Tim Slade Rosenberg/HRT Holden 10.7745s
4. Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden 19.7578s
5. David Reynolds Rod Nash/FPR Ford 20.4569s
6. Chaz Mostert FPR Ford 23.9138s
7. Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Holden 25.3679s
8. Michael Caruso Nissan 27.1194s
9. James Moffat Nissan 27.4023s
10. Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Holden 31.8740s
11. Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Holden 33.6164s
12. Shane van Gisbergen Tekno Holden 34.1966s
13. Todd Kelly Nissan 37.2907s
14. Rick Kelly Nissan 37.5238s
15. Lee Holdsworth Erebus Mercedes 39.3781s
16. Scott McLaughlin GRM Volvo 40.7056s
17. Nick Percat Walkinshaw/HRT Holden 52.0213s
18. Will Davison Erebus Mercedes 56.1455s
19. Scott Pye Dick Johnson Ford 57.0234s
20. Russell Ingall Dumbrell Holden 57.8328s
21. Jack Perkins Schwerkolt/FPR Ford 1m14.7652s
22. David Wall Dick Johnson Ford 1m17.9054s
23. Garth Tander HRT Holden +2 laps
24. Robert Dahlgren GRM Volvo +2 laps
25. Dale Wood Britek/BJR Holden +3 laps
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