Photo: V8 Supercars

Mark Winterbottom claims first Ford Falcon FG X victory

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Mark Winterbottom headed the first V8 Supercars race in Melbourne from pole position to take the first win for the new Ford Falcon FG X model. Celebrations were double at Prodrive Racing Australia as team mate Chaz Mostert came home in second place.

There was action on lap one, with an incident seeing Erebus Motorsport driver Ash Walsh coming to a halt on track which brought the safety car out.

The incident also involved Marcos Ambrose, Andre Heimgartner and Tim Blanchard, with Blanchard being forced to retire while the other two were able to resume the race, albeit further down the order.

Another driver to lose out on the first lap was Volvo driver Scott McLaughlin who went wide in turn three, dropping down the order to finish 17th from sixth position on the grid.

Championship leader James Courtney completed the podium in third position for Holden Racing Team while Shane Van Gisbergen headed Fabian Coulthard to finish fourth and fifth respectively.

Reigning champion Jamie Whincup came home in sixth position ahead of fellow holden driver Tim Slade in seventh position. Rick Kelly rounded off the top eight for Nissan Motorsport.

The second race of four this weekend starts at 18:20 local time today.