Pukekohe, New Zealand — V8 Supercar Champion Russell Ingall finished second in the first of three races at the PlaceMakers V8 International at Pukekohe outside of Auckland.
Mark Skaife won the race, with CAT Ford Performance Racing's Jason Bright in third. Ford finished with seven in the top-10.
In a strong result for Ford Performance Racing, Mark Winterbottom scored his best ever individual race result with fourth. Craig Lowndes (Team Betta Electrical) in fifth, Max Wilson (WPS Racing) in sixth, James Courtney (Jeld-Wen Motorsport) in eighth and Steven Johnson (First Rock Racing) in ninth.
The race had a dramatic beginning with four-time Pukekohe winner Greg Murphy eliminated from the race and possibly the weekend on the first corner. This was followed by officials ruling pole sitter and early race leader Garth Tander was handed a drive-through penalty for jumping the start.
After the succession of pit stops, Skaife took the lead ahead of Ingall with Steven Richards making up ground to third after he stayed out longer than his rivals. That move came undone when he spun off the track just six laps from the end.
The result for Ingall is a turn-around from the opening round in Adelaide where the team struggled throughout the weekend.
"Today's race had plenty and we haven't even got to the reverse-grid race," said Ingall.
"We are happy with the result, especially after how tough things were at Adelaide. I now feel I have a race car underneath me again.
"Importantly we can get more out of the car and we'll need that tomorrow.
"The reverse-grid race will be a matter of making the most of your opportunities. I'd be delighted to get into the top-10 in that race and have a real go in the final event of the weekend."
Jason Bright earned his best race result since joining Ford Performance Racing, beating his previous best of seventh. Adding to that was Winterbottom's fifth, eclipsing his previous best of 10th in Darwin in 2004.
"It's been a hard slog since Adelaide, so it's a great reward for all the team," said Bright. "It's not the end of the weekend yet, but we're very confident of improving the car and being in the mix come tomorrow afternoon.
"There will be pressure throughout the field tomorrow in the reverse-grid race. If you keep things clean, then you should be well set-up for the final race."
The front row for tomorrow's reverse-grid race will be Tasman team-mates Jason Richards and Andrew Jones. Only three cars failed to finish meaning Skaife and Ingall will start from positions 28 and 27.
The final grid for the weekend will be determined on the combined points of the first two races.
