Van Gisbergen takes V8 win in Tassie

Holden has claimed a 500th win in V8 Supercars, with Shane Van Gisbergen leading the field home at Symmons Plains.

Mark Winterbottom

Mark Winterbottom has dominated the final V8 Supercars practice at Symmons Plains in Tasmania. (AAP)

Shane Van Gisbergen has claimed a slice of motor racing history, with Red Bull Racing continuing its V8 Supercars dominance in Tasmania.

The New Zealander earned his first race win with his new team and Holden's 500th in the sport at the high-speed circuit at Symmons Plains near Launceston on Saturday.

He challenged and passed senior teammates Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup before holding on for what was also his first win in the island state.

"It was a great race and 500 wins for Holden, an awesome stat," Van Gisbergen said.

"Holden's been such a brand up the front. It's been awesome to contribute to a few.

"To the one that gets the 500th ... proud to be a part of it."

Whincup, who began in seventh, burst out of the blocks and gained effective control of the race by being the first to pit and doing so in smart style.

Van Gisbergen's decisive move on Whincup came on lap 18 when he snatched the lead on the hairpin turn, dive-bombing his teammate and racing away.

Whincup said his pit-stop strategy worked "extremely well" but he couldn't compete with his teammate for speed.

"I was a bit of a sitting duck. There was no point holding him up," he said.

"Everyone in the crew is pretty happy to lock up the podium and fingers crossed we can back up tomorrow."

Will Davison finished third after overtaking Lowndes at 260km/h in the turn-five sweep from the hairpin to score his first podium in 11 months.

Lowndes struggled for pace and limped to fifth behind the fast-finishing Nissan of Rick Kelly.

The Red Bull one-two continues three years of victories for the Roland Dane-managed outfit at Symmons Plains after Whincup and Lowndes shared the spoils in 2014 and 2015.

The pair also sit on top of the championship standings after the result, with Van Gisbergen leading Whincup by two points.

Ford rival Mark Winterbottom, who started on pole, was unable to recover from a shocking pit stop when he overshot his mark and finished ninth.

Scott McLaughlin wasn't able to take his place on the grid after his Volvo was reduced to seven cylinders in the warm-up.

The young Kiwi began 10 laps after the field and placed last after a race characterised by dramatic passing moves but without a safety car.

V8 SUPERCARS RACE 4 RESULTS

1. Shane Van Gisbergen (Holden)

2. Jamie Whincup (Holden)

3. Will Davison (Holden)

4. Rick Kelly (Nissan)

5. Craig Lowndes (Holden)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER FOUR RACES

1. Shane Van Gisbergen (Holden) - 347

2. Jamie Whincup (Holden) - 345

3. Rick Kelly (Nissan) - 291

4. Cam Waters (Ford) - 280

5. Will Davison (Holden) - 267


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Source: AAP


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