[3] John Bowe would make his 200th V8 Supercar round start; joining Peter Brock, Dick Johnson and Glenn Seton as the only drivers achieved such a feat.

The Holden Racing Team were issued a suspended $20,000 fine for exceeding the freight allowance set for the international event.

Rick Kelly stalled at the start and left drivers scrambling every which way to avoid hitting the rear of his stranded car.

To add to local fans woes, Paul Radisich was spun at the hairpin on the safety car restart and relegated him to the rear of the field.

Andrew Jones was issued a drive-through penalty for failing to stay in formation at the safety car restart.

Todd Kelly was also suffering from power steering issues and retired a few laps from home owing to a fire within the cockpit.

In the process, the rear of Porter's car tagged Radisich, sending the Team Kiwi racer around as well.

The incident inflicted extensive damage to the cars of Jamie Whincup, Bowe, Jason Bargwanna and Steven Richards.

Aided with a fast car and optimal grid position, Tander began making his way up the order.

Bowe suffered a major crash at the end of the front straight as a result of a jammed throttle.

Porter exacted his revenge on Luff on lap 13, only for the local driver having to retire from the race due to damage.

James Courtney was experiencing braking problems which led to him spinning Murphy at the ever-so-troublesome hairpin.

Skaife established an affirmative lead while the rest of the pack finally managed to negotiate the hairpin without wanton destruction.

Johnson held a strong fourth place but flat-spotted the tyres in the opening laps and ceded position to Lowndes.

Todd Kelly's weekend was further compounded when he locked up into the hairpin, flat-spotting his front tyres, forcing him to pit, and fell toward the tail-end of the field.