Kiwi Van Gisbergen grabs maiden win

Shane van Gisbergen scored his first ever V8 Supercars win in Hamilton this afternoon. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen today grabbed his breakthrough V8 Supercars win today, claiming the chequered flag in race two of the Hamilton 400.

Van Gisbergen, at 21 the youngest driver in the field, piloted his Stone Brothers Racing Ford home ahead of the Holdens of Lee Holdsworth and Garth Tander.

"We did it!" said an elated van Gisbergen after the race.

"I was pushing pretty hard there - it's an unbelievable feeling."

The Stone Brothers driver has come close to victory a few times, but this is the first time he's taken the top podium spot.

The win for the Gold Coast-based Aucklander came in his 55th start, having made his debut four years ago.

Van Gisbergen began the 59-lap race fourth on the grid and got past Steve Owen at the very first corner.

After dropping a place on his first pit stop, he worked his way back to third.

His big double-move came on laps 24 and 25, when he overtook Will Davison to jump into second, and then ducked inside Rick Kelly, winner of yesterday's race one, around a corner to hit the front.

From there, Van Gisbergen steadily opened out a lead of over four seconds, but that was wiped out with 16 laps to go when the safety car was called out.

From the restart, Van Gisbergen was quick away, while behind him Holdsworth moved into second past Kelly.

The safety car was again called out shortly after to produce a nine-lap sprint to the finish as rain began to fall, but Van Gisbergen held his nerve.

Victory was a turnaround from yesterday's rain-swept race one, when Van Gisbergen, like other drivers, overshot his mark in the pits.

He hit a television cameraman in that stop, was held up by a car that had spun in another and eventually finished 16th.

There was bad luck for the two other New Zealanders in the field this afternoon, Holden drivers Greg Murphy and Fabian Coulthard, who had both finished in the top-10 in race one.

Murphy had started fifth on the grid and worked his way to fourth early in the race.

However, on lap 10, he struck gearbox trouble and had to retire.

Coulthard had began near the rear of the field having fallen foul of a qualifying session that lasted effectively for just four minutes before rain fell.

He climbed to 11th, but then tangled with the Ford of Tony D'Alberto, went off and had lost several places.

His race finished with three laps to go after he and Tim Slade collided.

- NZ HERALD STAFF, NZPA