SHANE van Gisbergen has taken an emotional Pukekohe victory in a race overshadowed by two incidents on a dramatic opening lap.
Van Gisbergen effectively led from start to finish but all eyes were on Will Brown after there had been concern around his wellbeing.
Having collided with Mark Winterbottom on the first run through Turn 10, a winded Brown emerged from the wreckage that was the #9 Boost Mobile ZB Commodore.
That incident triggered a red flag period that ultimately saw Race 28 go time certain, cut short by five laps.
There had already been mayhem by that point when Anton De Pasquale hit the wall hard at the exit of Turn 6 following contact with Brodie Kostecki.
When the race restarted on Lap 6, Will Davison looked to challenge van Gisbergen for the lead at Turn 8 but was run wide, losing a couple of places.
That opened the door for Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters to charge by, and that pair would hold position through to the end.
Davison had to settle for fourth, ahead of Scott Pye.
Front-row starter Broc Feeney had a tough time of it but recovered to eighth with a bold overtake on Jake Kostecki, who impressed for Tickford Racing.
James Golding navigated the carnage to finish 10th.
Of the many drivers to find trouble, Nick Percat finished best in 14th even after hitting the Turn 4 wall.
Tim Slade was 15th even after being turned by Thomas Randle at Turn 8, for which the latter copped a 15-second penalty.
Randle (21st) had already been slapped with a five-second penalty, as had teammate James Courtney (16th), for gaining an advantage through the Turn 5 chicane on Lap 1.
Todd Hazelwood (20th) also got a five-second penalty for shoving Jack Smith off at the same chicane, while Winterbottom was last of the 22 finishers after serving a drive-through penalty.
Jack Le Brocq was a non-finisher due to suspension damage.
Race 28 results
1. Shane van Gisbergen
2. Chaz Mostert
3. Cameron Waters
4. Will Davison
5. Scott Pye
6. Andre Heimgartner
7. David Reynolds
8. Broc Feeney
9. Jake Kostecki
10. James Golding
11. Bryce Fullwood
12. Lee Holdsworth
13. Macauley Jones
14. Nick Percat
15. Tim Slade
16. James Courtney
17. Jack Smith
18. Brodie Kostecki
19. Chris Pither
20. Todd Hazelwood
21. Thomas Randle
22. Mark Winterbottom
NC. Jack Le Brocq
NC. Will Brown
NC. Anton De Pasquale
