Chaz Mostert heads superior Ford 1-2 in Winton

Chaz Mostert headed a superior Ford 1-2 in the first V8 Supercars race of the weekend in Winton, leading the race from lights to flag ahead of team mate Mark Winterbottom in second place.

The Prodrive Racing Australia driver crossed the line to take victory close to three second ahead of Winterbottom, with Nissan Motorsport driver Michael Caruso in third place.

And it was a strong race for the Nissan drivers with Todd Kelly in fifth place behind David Reynolds and Rick Kelly in seventh place behind Fabian Coulthard.

Tekno Autorsports driver Shane Van Gisbergen headed reigning champion Jamie Whincup in eight and ninth, with Nick Percat as the final driver into the top ten.

Championship leader Craig Lowndes only managed 12th position with Volvo Polestar Racing driver Scott McLaughlin also having a tough race. The Volvo driver started last after spinning off in qualifying due to oil on the track and McLaughlin spun off in the race as well. But it was not due to oil in the race as Dale Wood turned him around in a fight for position 23.

The race was more or less stationary throughout the field with the majority of drivers keeping their positions. The second race starts 16:35 local time.