Albert Park V8s: Van Gisbergen takes first win for Red Bull

The non-championship race got off to a frenetic start, Jason Bright spinning spectacularly at Turn 1 after being tagged by Scott Pye.

Mark Winterbottom and Fabian Coulthard then clashed at Turn 11, sending Winterbottom from the Top 3 to the back of the field.

All the while pole-sitter Whincup had made a perfect start, and even gapped the field after the first lap – only to have his advantage cut short when the Safety Car emerged at the end of Lap 1.

That brought van Gisbergen – who also made a great start to go from P5 on the grid to P2 within a couple of corners at the start – right into the game. And then the race re-started a couple of laps later, van Gisbergen was in the perfect position to capitalise on a small mistake from Whincup at Turn 13 to take the lead.

The Triple Eight pair continued to scrap for the remainder of the race, but ultimately the Kiwi was able to do enough to take his first win for Triple Eight and Red Bull Racing Australia.

“It was really good. We were a bit more aggressive with the tyre pressure, we started a bit further back and make some good spots early,” explained van Gisbergen.

“We both had really good speed, the cars feel really good, so its promising. It’s a really good improvement.

“It was a really good clean fight [with Whincup], good aggressive passing and big respect for each other.”

Chaz Mostert finished third after a race-long battle with Coulthard. Penske driver Coulthard actually passed Mostert for P3 at the re-start, but Mostert re-took the final spot on the podium at Turn 3 with a couple of laps to go.

Pye finished the race one spot behind his team-mate in fifth, while Garth Tander was sixth for the Holden Racing Team, ahead of the third Triple Eight car of Craig Lowndes.

Winterbottom, meanwhile, had to settle for 21st after his early altercation, while Bright didn’t make the finish.