Will Davison broke nine years of Holden domination at Pukekohe Raceway by taking the top podium spot in Race 8 at the ITM 400 Auckland.
The Pepsi Max Crew Ford Performance Racing’s driver came from fifth place on the starting grid to sail through and take the top spot. It is the first time a Ford has won at Pukekohe since Marcus Ambrose in 2004 claimed the marque’s sole race win at a circuit where Holden has enjoyed almost total domination.
The win also pushed Davison into top spot in the Championship points, pushing rival Jamie Whincup who started on pole, into second.
“[The win] feels really good,” Davison said after the race.
“We’re trying to get our heads around this car, trying to win every race – we haven’t really been in a position to do that, but I’ve been up there in the championship – so this definitely feels great quite early in the year.
“It’s a special atmosphere here in Pukekohe to get a win.
“It’s probably not expected, coming from fifth on the grid, but I had a lot of fun, it was a great race. There were a couple of errors by the guys in front, but I had to really race for it at the end there.
“It’s probably the most competitive I’ve been all year, so to get a race win is very special for everyone involved. We also had great car speed, so that’s important [for future races].”
Davison was followed home by Shane van Gisbergen, Fabian Coulthard, Craig Lowndes, Garth Tander, Jason Bright, David Reynolds, Jonathon Webb, Alex Davison and rounded off by Rick Kelly as the best-placed Nissan runner.
The safety car came out a number of times (four in total) during the race; early in the race due to Tony D’Alberto coming off the track and spreading debris on the track, followed contact on Lap 13 between James Courtney and van Gisbergen. Scott McLaughlin ploughed into a wall towards the end of the race. The race was stopped after time restriction after only 32 laps.
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The safety car was also brought out after contact between Whincup and Mark Winterbottom – FPR Team Principal Tim Edwards called it “karma” following the pair’s collision in Saturday’s closing race. The duo ended up finishing 24th and 23rd respectively. It made it a bittersweet win for the FPR crew as Winterbottom had led well at the beginning of the race.
2013 V8 Supercars ITM 400 Auckland – Race 3 Final Classification (32 laps*):
| Driver | Entry / Team | Result | ||
| 1. | Will Davison |  |
Pepsi Max Crew / Ford Performance Racing | 44:42.6510 |
| 2. | Shane van Gisbergen |  |
VIP Petfoods / Tekno Autosports | + 0.6028 |
| 3. | Fabian Coulthard | |
Lockwood Racing / Brad Jones Racing | + 0.8140 |
| 4. | Craig Lowndes | |
Red Bull Racing AU / Triple 8 Engineering | + 1.0343 |
| 5. | Garth Tander | |
Holden Racing Team / TWR | + 1.3570 |
| 6. | Jason Bright | |
Team BOC / Brad Jones Racing | + 2.0625 |
| 7. | David Reynolds | |
Bottle-O Racing / Ford Performance Racing | + 2.2681 |
| 8. | Jonathon Webb | |
Tekno Autosports | + 2.5003 |
| 9. | Alex Davison | |
Jeld-Wen Racing / Ford Performance Racing | + 2.8014 |
| 10. | Rick Kelly |  |
Jack Daniel’s Racing / Nissan Motorsport | + 3.6912 |
| 11. | Russell Ingall | |
SuperCheap Auto Racing / TWR | + 3.8558 |
| 12. | Dean Fiore | |
Dodo Insurance / Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | + 4.3320 |
| 13. | James Moffat | |
Norton 360 Racing / Nissan Motorsport | + 4.5793 |
| 14. | Michael Caruso | |
Norton 360 Racing / Nissan Motorsport | + 5.5825 |
| 15. | Todd Kelly | |
Jack Daniel’s Racing / Nissan Motorsport | + 5.8641 |
| 16. | Tim Slade |  |
Heavy Haulage Racing / Erebus Motorsport | + 6.4310 |
| 17. | Lee Holdsworth | |
IRWIN Racing / Erebus Motorsport | + 7.0717 |
| 18. | Jonny Reid | |
Wilson Security Racing / Dick Johnson Racing | + 7.1724 |
| 19. | David Wall | |
Wilson Security Racing / Brad Jones Racing | + 7.7188 |
| 20. | Maro Engel | |
SP Tools Racing / Erebus Motorsport | + 8.4545 |
| 21. | Alexandre Prémat | |
Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport | + 8.8143 |
| 22. | James Courtney | |
Holden Racing Team / TWR | + 2 laps |
| 23. | Mark Winterbottom | |
Pepsi Max Crew / Ford Performance Racing | + 2 laps |
| 24. | Jamie Whincup | |
Red Bull Racing AU / Triple 8 Engineering | + 2 laps |
| Not Classified | ||||
| DNF. | Scott McLaughlin | |
Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport | 27 laps |
| DNF. | Tim Blanchard | |
Wilson Security Racing / Dick Johnson Racing | 14 laps |
| DNF. | Tony D’Alberto | |
HIFLEX Racing / Tony D’Alberto Racing | 0 laps |
* Race distance time-limited to 32 of its scheduled 35-lap distance
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Richard Bailey
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