Kiwi Andre Heimgartner has survived a dramatic opening lap and kept his car out of trouble for 59 more rain-soaked circuits for victory in Supercars' debut at the Taupō International Motorsport Park.
Racing in the No.8 car - the same number used by deceased Kiwi Supercars legend Jason Richards. whose name adorns the trophy on offer this weekend - Heimgartner started third on the grid, but watched three other top qualifiers collide in the opening straight, eliminating third qualifier Tim Slade from the rest of the journey.
Championship leader Will Brown continued with minor damage, but eventually finished ninth, while polesitter Cam Waters eventually regained some lost ground to edge him at the finish. NZ favourite Matt Payne and Broc Feeney also went off the track at the first turn, sending them to the back of the field.
While those around him lost their heads, Heimgartner drove a near-faultless display for his second-ever Supercars victory - three years after his first at Tailem Bend, South Australia - heading home Shell V-Power teammates Will Davison and Anton de Pasquale, with young Kiwi Ryan Wood just missing his first ever podium finish.
"Over the moon, I can't believe it," said Heimgartner. "What a day.
"It was quite slippery, especially when we went back out on the new tyres and it really started raining. At turn nine a few times, I was chopping and changing between gears, and sliding through there, but if I was having a few moments, no doubt so were they.
"It was an amazing drive and I always love the wet - it's good fun."
The rain became a factor halfway through the top-10 shootout, when heavy downpours noticeably hampered the leading provisional qualifiers later in the time-trial format. Payne had been fastest in qualifying, but was unable to generate enough speed in the conditions to retain his pole ranking.
Heimgartner was among the early drivers on track and nailed down his spot in the second row. That luck held through the opening stages of the race itself, as he avoided the contact around him.
"I actually got quite a good start and decided not to go to the left of Cam luckily or I would have ended up in it," he reflected. "The seas sort of parted and I followed Will from there on.
"I knew our car was fast, not quite as fast as those guys around us, but I had really good drive in the car, so I could get off the corners really well."
The result elevates him to 10th in the championship, after a difficult start to the his 2024 campaign, which featured only one other top-10 finish - ninth in the Bathurst season-opener - across six previous races.
In his debut season on the circuit, Wood, 20, also managed top 10 for the second time this year, but showed his potential to finish just off the podium in his home event.
Fellow Kiwi Richie Stanaway improved from 23rd on the grid to sixth at the finish, while Jaxon Evans also cracked the top 10 and Payne finished 13th, after his early setback.
