James Moffat claimed his and the Nissan Altima’s first V8 Supercars victory as he led home teammate Michael Caruso to a 1-2 finish at Winton.

The duo looked set to snatch a historic pole for the team but were demoted in the final seconds of qualifying by current championship leader Jamie Whincup. The Triple Eight driver made a good start to the race and enjoyed an early advantage over both Nissans before disaster struck upon completion of the ninth lap when he was forced to retired with a gearbox malfunction. This opened the door for Caruso to take control of the race, with Moffat and Mark Winterbottom in close pursuit until the halftime interval.

The Nissans then swapped position on the restart as Moffat made the better getaway after his teammate missed a gear as they accelerated away. The 29-year-old went on to lead every lap of the second encounter and took the checkered flag 0.807sec ahead of Caruso, to give Nissan its first victory in the series for 21 years.

Jason Bright gained four positions to cross the finishing line in third position, ahead of Mark Winterbottom who he displaced on lap 21. Fifth went to James Courtney, whose podium-finishing roll came to an end after twice claiming second and third in the last eight races.

Title challenger Craig Lowndes experienced a torrid afternoon following a rollbar failure in qualifying. He lined up 15th and ultimately finished in 21st place having suffered from a lack of grip.

Results - 40 laps:Pos  Driver               Team/Car                        Time/Gap 1.  James Moffat         Nissan                     1h22m06.5120s 2.  Michael Caruso       Nissan                          +0.8076s 3.  Jason Bright         Brad Jones Holden               +5.4828s 4.  Mark Winterbottom    FPR Ford                        +6.1253s 5.  James Courtney       HRT Holden                      +6.3837s 6.  Will Davison         FPR Ford                       +11.0251s 7.  Fabian Coulthard     Brad Jones Holden              +13.8307s 8.  Garth Tander         HRT Holden                     +18.0194s 9.  Russell Ingall       Walkinshaw/HRT Holden          +18.3448s10.  David Reynolds       Rod Nash/FPR Ford              +20.0609s11.  Tony D'Alberto       D'Alberto Holden               +22.9482s12.  Scott Pye            Dumbrell Holden                +25.1893s13.  Shane van Gisbergen  Tekno Holden                   +26.1160s14.  Rick Kelly           Nissan                         +26.8501s15.  Alex Davison         Schwerkolt/FPR Ford            +28.0811s16.  Chaz Mostert         Dick Johnson Ford              +28.8134s17.  Alexandre Premat     GRM Holden                     +28.8964s18.  Maro Engel           Erebus Mercedes                +29.0834s19.  Scott McLaughlin     GRM Holden                     +31.5529s20.  Jonathon Webb        Tekno Holden                   +32.1003s21.  Craig Lowndes        Triple Eight Holden            +32.4877s22.  Tim Slade            Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes      +32.6408s23.  David Wall           Britek/BJR Holden              +35.0247s24.  Todd Kelly           Nissan                         +35.2207s25.  Dean Fiore           Dumbrell Holden                +35.3934s26.  Lee Holdsworth       Erebus Mercedes                +35.5746s27.  Tim Blanchard        Dick Johnson Ford              +36.1073sRetirements:     Jamie Whincup        Triple Eight Holden               9 laps