V8 Supercars: Whincup/Dumbrell dominate Surfers race 2

Jamie Whincup moved closer to retaining his V8 Supercars title with a dominant victory alongside co-driver Paul Dumbrell in the second race at Surfers Paradise (scroll down for video highlights)

After dispatching the Volvo of polesitter Alex Premat, Dumbrell quickly took control of the race in the opening stint, establishing a lead of over five seconds before pitting at one-third distance to hand over the reins of the Triple Eight Holden to Whincup.

The five-time series champion had to rebuild the gap when the safety car was deployed in response to Dale Wood's Britek Holden grinding to a halt on track, his task made easier by a drive-through penalty for race one winner Shane van Gisbergen.

The only driver seemingly with the pace to keep up with Whincup, van Gisbergen made the error of passing second-place man Scott McLaughlin, taking over from Premat, before the start/finish line at the restart, dropping well down the order after serving his penalty.

That gave Whincup a healthy buffer over McLaughlin by the time the safety car made its second appearance, this time to clear debris from the circuit, and the race had barely resumed before a third caution was caused by James Moffat's Nissan slamming into the barriers. The latter intervention alleviated concerns over fuel mileage for the lead runners, allowing Whincup to once more make good his escape from the chasing pack and secure a straightforward 11th win of the season.

Behind, McLaughlin was able to hold off a late charge from the Nissan of Michael Caruso in the battle for second, a result that gave respective co-drivers Alex Premat and Dean Fiore their first podium finishes in V8 Supercars.

Tim Slade brought home the Walkinshaw Holden in fourth place ahead of van Gisbergen, who fought his way back up the order in impressive style after his penalty to complete the top five, followed by top Ford driver David Reynolds.

Mark Winterbottom saw his faint title hopes receive a further blow with a subdued run to eighth place, while Craig Lowndes could do no more than 11th after getting shuffled down the order by a later yellow-flag pit stop than his rivals.

James Courtney's nightmare weekend continued when he made contact with Winterbottom, damaging his steering and necessitating lengthy repairs, while his HRT Holden teammate Garth Tander suffered a second puncture in as many races while fighting for the podium.

RESULTS - 100 LAPS: