James Moffat claims historic victory for Nissan

James Moffat has secured a stunning victory for Nissan at the opening race of the Winton 360 this afternoon. The 29 year-old notched up his first ever V8 Supercar victory, and the first for the Japanese marque since the 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship under Group A regulations.

It was, however, not without a nervous moment in the dying stages, with the Victorian making a big mistake under heavy braking with just six laps remaining, granting his Norton Racing team-mate, Michael Caruso, a sniff of victory. However, the 29 year-old held his nerve over the final 5 laps, and cruised to victory just under a second ahead of Caruso in the second Norton Racing Altima.

After starting from fifth on the grid, Mark Winterbottom rounded out the podium for Ford Performance Racing after exhibiting erratic pace throughout the 120 kilometre event. Jason Bright appeared destined to break the Norton Racing precession in the early stages of the second 60 kilometre leg; however the Brad Jones Racing pilot markedly fell through the field in the dying stages to finish fourth. Tekno Autosports’ Shane van Gisbergen completed the top 5 in his battle-hardened VIP Petfoods-backed VF Commodore.

Earlier, Jamie Whincup denied Nissan Motorsport a historic pole position after the championship leader narrowly edged out Michael Caruso’s Norton-backed Altima. Caruso was on target to eclipse Whincup’s time in the dying stages, however the 30 year-old left the track in the final sector which blemished what would’ve been an otherwise scintillating lap.
Whincup jumped Caruso at the start of the first leg of the race, however it quickly became apparent that the reigning champion was in for a tough afternoon as the “Norton Hornets” edged ever closer to the rear wing of his Red Bull Racing Australia entry. It all turned sour for Whincup on the 10th lap when his Commodore came to a grinding halt on the front straight after what appeared to be a transmission problem. The four-time champion was forced to retire from the race, extending his recent run of ill fortune.

James Courtney saw the chequered flag in 6th position for the Holden Racing Team after a hectic final leg saw the 2010 champion engaged in a fierce scrap with Russel Ingall and Tony D’Alberto. Fabian Coulthard recovered from an abysmal start to finish 7th ahead of FPR’s Will Davison in the second Pepsi Max Crew Falcon. David Reynolds seized another top-10 result for the Bottle-O Racing after claiming 9th, while a deserving Tony D’Alberto completed the top-10 after qualifying in 12th position.

In what was a relatively clean race at the Benalla-based circuit, a selection of heated battles headlined an otherwise uneventful super sprint event. LDM’s Scott Pye, FPR’s Alex Davison and Rick Kelly engaged in a heated exchange throughout the closing stages of the opening leg, with the trio trading paint for almost the entirety of the first sector on the 17th lap. Luckily, all managed to keep their respective entries within the confines of the Winton tarmac.
A rousing battle also took place throughout the second leg of the race involving Walkinshaw Racing’s Russell Ingall, James Courtney and Tony D’Alberto. Apart from a miscalculated dive by Ingall up the inside of Courtney’s HRT Commodore, all three were relatively civil albeit sporting a selection of battle scars on their respective VF Commodores.

Craig Lowndes was unable to capitalise on the adversity of his Red Bull Racing Australia team-mate, finishing in 13th position after falling to 21st place in the early stages of the second sixty kilometre leg. Similarly, Garth Tander was off the pace, eventually finishing 12th having qualified back in 16th position.

Unlike their Nissan rivals, the three Erebus Mercedes entries failed to profit from the revised fuel blend offered to the new manufacturers ahead of the upcoming enduro cup, with Maro Engel flying the flag for the Gold Coast-based outfit in 22nd position at the finish.

As a result of Whincup’s misfortune, the margin to Lowndes has been cut to just 101 points. Will Davison retains third position in the standings after his 8th place finish the 25th race of the season, however Mark Winterbottom looms ever closer to his FPR team mate, reducing the margin to a mere 19 points between the factory Ford pilots.

The Winton 360 continues tomorrow, with two 100 kilometre sprint races taking place throughout the afternoon. Each will feature a prior 15 minute qualifying to determine the grid for the respective sprint events. The V8 Supercars will hit the track at 11.15am local time for the opening qualifying session.