Motorsport: Whincup claims opening win to keep championship alive

Craig Lowndes drives the Team Vodafone Holden. Photo / Getty Images

V8 Supercar series leader Jamie Whincup inched further ahead of rival Craig Lowndes after claiming the opening race at Symmons Plains on Saturday.

The two Holden racers finished first and second as Lowndes managed to keep alive his championship hopes.

Holden Racing Team's Garth Tander produced a late pass on Ford's Will Davison to snatch third place.

Whincup went into the Tasmanian round with a 143 point lead over Lowndes with three rounds remaining and took the chequered flag by 8.7 seconds.

Whincup snared pole position but lost it to Ford's Mark Winterbottom when his Commodore got bogged down with wheelspin at the start.

But 12 laps later the championship leader slipped underneath the Ford pilot at turn six to regain the lead.

Much of the potential heat of the race dissipated when bitter rivals Paul Dumbrell and Shane van Gisbergen were separated on the grid after a penalty.

Dumbrell had qualified third and was lined up side-by-side with van Gisbergen - a driver he had vowed to repay after a shunt on the Gold Coast recently.

However, a penalty for blocking in practice punted Dumbrell back to sixth spot, eliminating any possible panel-scrubbing off the line.

- AAP