Whincup was forced to vacate his front row grid spot and enter the pits to fix the issue.

[4] Tander fought his way through the field only to be turned around by Jason Bargwanna, who was given a 25-point penalty for causing the incident.

Ford Performance Racing had a very disappointing weekend, struggling to find pace on the soft tyres.

Shane van Gisbergen took the final podium place on Sunday, albeit some thirty seconds off the lead.

Despite his Sunday problems, Whincup still managed to score the third highest points total for the weekend with 212.