Percat's win was the first for Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport and came in the midst of controversy surrounding pit stop regulations.

Erebus Motorsport replaced their Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs with a pair of Holden VF Commodores, reducing the number of manufacturers in the field from five to four.

Scott McLaughlin set the fastest lap time ahead of defending event winner James Courtney and 2015 series runner-up Craig Lowndes.

[10] Two ten-minute qualifying sessions were held on Friday evening which set the grid for the two 125 km races on Saturday.

A similar situation led to a major accident involving Jonathon Webb and Greg Murphy at the 2012 Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

[11] Mostert was surprised at taking pole position on his return to the series, saying: "I’ll still be up the pointy end which is great ... I’m a bit lost for words, I can’t really describe it.

Whincup took the lead at the start with Pye assuming second position ahead of McLaughlin, Winterbottom, Courtney and Van Gisbergen.

The safety car was called on lap 14 after Slade went down the escape road at Turn 9 and was unable to select reverse gear.

[14] After all drivers had made their pit stop, Whincup continued to lead with Courtney moving up to second place ahead of Van Gisbergen and McLaughlin.

Pye had fallen down the order after losing time in his pit stop, with the car being dropped from the jacks with the left-rear wheel not fastened properly.

The safety car returned to the pits on lap 18 and Whincup again built a gap over second place, leading all the way to the finish.

Courtney finished second ahead of Van Gisbergen and McLaughlin, while Garth Tander was fifth after passing Winterbottom, Lowndes and Todd Kelly following the safety car period.

[15] Mostert led the opening laps from pole position with Courtney moving into second place after making a good start from fourth on the grid.

[15] Courtney took the lead at Turn 9 on lap 21, with Whincup taking second as Mostert was pushed wide on the exit of the corner.

Coulthard was the sixth driver to run and set a time of 1:21.3006, another half a second faster than Kelly, which would be fast enough to secure pole position.

A rain storm passed over the circuit just prior to the start of the race, prompting the majority of the drivers in the field to change from slick to wet weather tyres on the grid.

[21] With the rain getting heavier, the race was started under the control of the safety car, which remained on the track for the first six laps to allow drivers to get a feel for the conditions.

With the rain stopped and the track drying out, drivers began to pit to change back to slick tyres, led by Jason Bright on lap 18.

[22] Courtney led until lap 36, when he aquaplaned going into Turn 8 and hit the wall, damaging the car and forcing him to return to the pits for repairs.

As the conditions continued to deteriorate, and a marshal was affected by lightning, the race was suspended on lap 42, with all cars returning to the pit lane.

This left Percat to take victory, his first solo win in the series, having completed 48 laps, ahead of Coulthard, Pye, Caruso and Tander.

Along with the increased penalties for Pye and Coulthard, this dropped Tander to fifth place in the championship, with Whincup moving into second, 15 points behind Caruso.