Photo: Freightliner Racing

First win for Tim Slade as Scott McLaughlin takes the lead of the championship

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Tim Slade claimed his first ever V8 Supercars Championship victory in the first race of the weekend at Winton, while Volvo’s Scott McLaughlin finished second and took the lead of the championship lead from Triple Eight’s Jamie Whincup.

Brad Jones Racing driver Slade started from pole position and headed the field from lights to flag, becoming the ninth different race winner in ten races this year.

GRM Volvo driver McLaughlin meanwhile made a strong start from fourth on the grid to be up into second position into the first corner, then forced to fend off reigning champion Mark Winterbottom’s Prodrive Racing Australia entry for the majority of the race, but with the Ford driver unable to get past.

Slade went on to win the race by four seconds, with McLaughlin in second, Winterbottom in third and Rick Kelly claiming fourth position for Nissan Motorsport, putting all four manufacturers in the top four positions.

Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Whincup, who headed the championship before this race, rounded out the top five while Tekno Autosports’ Holden driver Will Davison fought off the Prodrive Ford of Chaz Mostert for sixth position.

Whincup’s Triple Eight team-mates Shane van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes had a tough race, with van Gisbergen crossing the line in ninth and Lowndes only managing 14th.

The race had one major incident when Holden Racing Team driver James Courtney and Prodrive Racing Australia driver Cameron Waters came together at high speed. Both drivers were able to rejoin but with Waters finishing 16th and Courtney 19th. The stewards have announced the incident will be investigated after the race.