V8 Supercar: Whincup ends winless streak

Jamie Whincup ended a 12-race barren period by winning the V8 Supercars opener at Hidden Valley.

Reigning champion Whincup had not won a race since round five at Symmons Plains in late March, but claimed a double pole in Saturday morning's qualifying session. That was the launchpad for a dominant first race, and he pulled clear of the field while front row partner Scott McLaughlin's Volvo was bundled down to fourth by Whincup's Triple Eight team-mate Craig Lowndes and Tekno driver Shane van Gisbergen.

Whincup never came under threat and took victory by 4.3 seconds.

Van Gisbergen put plenty of pressure on Lowndes, but could not prevent yet another Triple Eight Holden one-two.

McLaughlin gradually lost touch with the podium fight in fourth.

Lowndes made some inroads into Mark Winterbottom's championship lead as the Ford Performance Racing driver was stuck back in sixth place, unable to overtake Garth Tander despite repeated efforts.