"It was pretty hot going – the engine was hot; I was hot and there was stuff going on everywhere. The car was really good but I just couldn't get close to people because of the heat in the engine.
"It was a solid day for us so we will take that and run."
Reynolds made a blindingly fast start from the second row of the grid and managed to drive around both pole-sitter Rick Kelly and McLaughlin at turn one on the opening lap.
A safety car with 14 laps remaining opened the doors for the cars that stopped later including Van Gisbergen.
The 2016 champion blew straight past Nick Percat on the re-start but took an age to get by Kelly's Nissan, who was eventually given a bad sportsmanship flag for blocking.
By the time Van Gisbergen made the pass the top three cars had bolted into the distance a chance for a podium went begging but it was a huge recovery after a poor qualifying performance saw him start 11th.
Reynolds credited his incredible move at the start of the race as the key moment.
"Pretty much business as usual for me – I always try to get the best start I can and I just hung my balls out at turn one and went a bit deeper than everyone and it paid off," Reynolds said.
"That is what set up our race. We had awesome pit stops and good strategy. My car was amazing today. I couldn't fault it."
McLaughlin's Shell V-Power Ford teammate Fabian Coulthard came home eighth while the other two New Zealanders – Andre Heimgartner and Richie Stanaway – finished 16th and 19th respectively.
The series moves to Townsville in three weeks.
Standings
Scott McLaughlin 1775 points
Shane van Gisbergen -161
David Reynolds -327
Craig Lowndes -413
Jamie Whincup -433
Scott Pye -496
Fabian Coulthard -546
