Red Bull Holden Racing duo Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell have romped to victory in the Sandown 500, cashing in on their superior pace to lead home a Triple Eight Racing podium.
Shane van Gisbergen and co-driver Earl Bamber, on his Supercars debut for Red Bull's other combination, improved to second and boost the series leader's championship hopes.
Veterans Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards (Autobarn Lowndes Racing) rounded out Triple Eight's first 1-2-3 since a sprint race win at Queensland Raceway two years ago.
In a mind-numbingly dull start to the Enduro Cup, car No.1 cruised to a success that looked likely from Friday's first practice session.
Dumbrell trashed Whincup's long-running lap record on his first spin around the Melbourne circuit, showing the awesome pace of their ZB Commodore.
Whincup took his own record back in qualifying, when only an overly-cautious decision to put on wet tyres cost them pole position.
That didn't matter on Sunday, when Dumbrell jumped polesitter David Reynolds' co-driver Luke Youlden from the line.
The dynamic duo were never headed for effective control, claiming a third Sandown victory by almost seven seconds.
"I couldn't be happier, the car's been awesome all weekend," Whincup said.
Whincup's win was his fourth in the Sandown 500 - he won with Lowndes in 2007 - while Van Gisbergen's race-day resurgence headed off a hit to his title hopes.
The Kiwi was off the pace at the Home of Horsepower until Sunday, when Bamber improved from his 11th placed start and van Gisbergen did the rest.
"What a privilege to drive these cars with the Red Bull Holden Racing Team. They gave us some rockets today," van Gisbergen said.
The Kiwi's chief rival for the title, countryman Scott McLaughlin, finished fourth by holding off outside championship shot Reynolds.
Van Gisbergen's lead now stands at 55 points with four rounds remaining.
Storm clouds that provided drama on Saturday cleared, and even the notorious turn six - possibly Australia's most dangerous Supercars corner - didn't cause any serious issue.
Early safety cars following bungles by Dean Fiore and Jason Bright made no difference to the outcome.
McLaughlin and the rest of the field were never in the contest, as the Red Bull team tuned up for Bathurst in emphatic fashion.
AAP
