Garth Tander speeds around the Pukekohe raceway. Photo / Getty Images
Holden's Garth Tander secured his fifth straight win and the V8 Supercar Championship lead after streaking away in race two at Pukekohe Park Raceway today.
Tander, who won race one here yesterday, also made a cleansweep of his home round in Perth, winning all three races at Barbagallo
a month ago.
The 30-year-old has now won five of seven races this season and stolen the series lead from Toll HSV Dealer team-mate Rick Kelly, who finished behind Ford's Jamie Whincup in third today.
Tander leads Kelly by one point, 150 to 149, with one race remaining in the round this afternoon.
Today's race was shaping up as another intriguing battle between Tander and yesterday's runner-up Mark Winterbottom of Ford.
Winterbottom led after a superior pit-stop on the 14th lap, but on the 15th he locked up, busted a right front tyre and ended up on the grass on the turn five hairpin, gifting Tander the lead.
Winterbottom had to pit again and ended up out of the points in 23rd.
Earlier, it was Whincup who challenged Tander, stealing the lead from the pole-sitter on lap one at the hairpin, only for Tander to return the favour at the same point a lap later.
Tander's win means Holden have won 19 of the 20 races ever held in the Supercar category at Pukekohe, Ford never winning the round since the 2.8km circuit joined the calendar in 2001.
This is the last visit to Pukekohe. Next year the New Zealand round moves south to the streets of Hamilton.
- NZPA, AAP
