» V8s Perth: Whincup wins final Barbagallo race

Three pole positions converted into two race wins and a second placed finish is certainly not a bad way to end a weekend of door-to-door racing, and Team Vodafone Jamie Whincup can be well pleased with his efforts after winning the third and final race of the V8 Supercars Trading Post Perth Challenge at Barbagallo Raceway.

The Holden driver and former series champion overcame a stern challenge from Race 2’s winner Jason Bright, as he was again beaten off the line by the Team BOC driver with whom he shared the front row.

The pair ran in close company all race and it would be the pit stops that would ultimately prove crucial. Whincup was able to leapfrog Bright with a better pit stop, and he narrowly led him home in the 50-lap race.

Hometown hero Garth Tander ended his weekend on a high with a solid run to third place in his TOLL HRT Commodore.

Whincup’s team-mate Craig Lowndes dropped from third to sixth on the opening lap, but he was able to recover to fourth place by the chequered flag, finishing ahead of James Courtney (TOLL HRT), who made it five Holdens in the top five finishing places.

Steven Johnson capped off a consistent weekend and finished as Ford’s best-placed runner in sixth place, narrowly holding out fellow Ford runner Shane van Gisbergen by less than two-hundredths of a second at the finish line.

With the series now moving on to the Winton race circuit in rural Victoria for the next round in three weeks time, Whincup’s championship lead has been extended to 142 points over team-mate Craig Lowndes, who has now moved into second place in the championship standings. Click here to view the current championship standings.

V8 Supercars Trading Post Perth Challenge Final Classification (Race 3 – 50 laps):

	Driver	Entry / Team	Result
1.	Jamie Whincup	Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Race Engineering	49:04.0396
2.	Jason Bright	Team BOC / Brad Jones Racing	+ 0.9351
3.	Garth Tander	TOLL / Holden Racing Team	+ 5.2232
4.	Craig Lowndes	Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Race Engineering	+ 10.5012
5.	James Courtney	TOLL / Holden Racing Team	+ 15.9123
6.	Steven Johnson	Jim Beam / Dick Johnson Racing	+ 16.1339
7.	Shane van Gisbergen	SP Tools / Stone Brothers Racing	+ 16.1531
8.	Jason Bargwanna	Jana Living / Brad Jones Racing	+ 20.4931
9.	Tim Slade	Lucky 7 / Stone Brothers Racing	+ 20.6141
10.	Greg Murphy	Pepsi Max Crew / Kelly Racing	+ 22.6693
11.	Alex Davison	Irwin / Stone Brothers Racing	+ 34.5280
12.	Rick Kelly	Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	+ 35.0567
13.	Fabian Coulthard	Bundaberg / Walkinsaw Racing	+ 36.7402
14.	Paul Dumbrell	The Bottle-O Racing Team / Rod Nash	+ 36.8667
15.	Will Davison	Trading Post / Ford Performance Racing	+ 40.4769
16.	Todd Kelly	Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	+ 41.0824
17.	Michael Caruso	Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	+ 44.2847
18.	Lee Holdsworth	Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	+ 47.8730
19.	Russell Ingall	Supercheap Auto / Paul Morris Motorsport	+ 48.7660
20.	Tony D’Alberto	Wilson Security / Tony D’Alberto Racing	+ 49.5831
21.	James Moffat	Jim Beam / Dick Johnson Racing	+ 49.9778
22.	Dean Fiore	Triple F Racing	+ 54.3333
23.	Jonathon Webb	Mother Energy Racing Team / Tekno	+ 59.9835
24.	David Reynolds	Stratco Racing / Kelly Racing	1 lap behind
25.	Warren Luff	Gulf Western Oil Racing / Lucas Dumbrell	1 lap behind
26.	Mark Winterbottom	Orrcon Steel / Ford Performance Racing	1 lap behind
	NOT CLASSIFIED
DNS.	Karl Reindler	Fair Dinkum Sheds / Brad Jones Racing	did not start
DNS.	Steve Owen	VIP Petfoods / Paul Morris Motorsport	did not start