Event Recap: 2018 Supercars Championship from Melbourne 400, Race #4 (March 25, 2018)

Event statistics following the sixth race of the 2018 Supercars Championship season, Race #4 of the Coates Hire Supercars Melbourne 400 at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne.

David Reynolds took the lead going into Turn 1 on the first lap and led all 11 laps in the race, shortened by two laps due to a time limit. Reynolds led Nick Percat by just over a second, with Jamie Whincup notching his fourth podium of the weekend with a third-place finish.

Race Statistics

Melbourne 400 (Race #4)

Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit – Melbourne, Victoria

- Winner (starting position): David Reynolds (2nd)

- Top Five: David Reynolds, Nick Percat, Jamie Whincup, Chaz Mostert, Scott Pye

- Full Results: David Reynolds, Nick Percat, Jamie Whincup, Chaz Mostert, Scott Pye, Fabian Coulthard, Scott McLaughlin, Michael Caruso, Garth Tander, Will Davison, Tim Slade, Craig Lowndes, Shane van Gisbergen, Andre Heimgartner, Anton de Pasquale, Simona de Silvestro, Mark Winterbottom, Richie Stanaway, Todd Hazelwood, Tim Blanchard, Jack Le Brocq, Cameron Waters, Lee Holdsworth, James Golding, James Courtney, Rick Kelly

- Laps Completed: 11

- Race Leaders: 1

- Laps Led: David Reynolds (11)

- Pole Position: Jamie Whincup (1 minute, 55.4777 seconds)

- Hard Charger: Shane van Gisbergen (+13; 26th to 13th)

- Fastest Lap: Chaz Mostert (1 minute, 57.1082 seconds)

- Margin of Victory: 1.0079 seconds

- Car Count: 26

- Cars Entered: 26

- Cars Running at Finish: 23 (of 26; or 88 percent of the field)

- Drivers to Finish on Lead Lap: 22

- Cautions: 1 for 2 laps

- Lead Changes: 0

- Manufacturer Breakdown: Holden (14); Ford (8); Nissan (4)

- Race Time: 25:58.677

- Weather at Start of the Race: 75 degrees Fahrenheit, mostly cloudy, winds 2 mph SE

Notes of Interest – Race/Weekend Recap

- This is David Reynolds’s first Supercars Championship victory of the season and the fifth of his career. He becomes the fifth driver in six races this season to win a race, and the fourth driver to win a race in this weekend’s Melbourne 400.

- Reynolds’s fifth victory comes in his 261st start. It marks the fourth season in which he’s recorded at least one victory. Reynolds last won a Supercars race in last year’s Bathurst 1000, sharing the drive with Luke Youlden. His last solo victory came in Race #2 at Pukekohe Park Raceway in 2015.

- This is Reynolds’s second podium of the season and the 17th of his career.

- This is the third race in which Reynolds has led this season; he has led a total of 17 laps this season.

- Reynolds’s 11 laps led were the fewest by a race winner this season. He’s the second driver this season (Jamie Whincup, Race #2 of Melbourne 400) to lead every lap of the race.

- Reynolds’s victory gave Australian drivers a third victory of the season, which now ties them with New Zealand drivers.

- Reynolds moved to second in the points standings.

- Reynolds gave Holden its fifth victory of the season and its third podium sweep of 2018.

- Reynolds became the first driver to win a race from the second starting position this season. Reynolds was the last driver to win from the second starting position, when he co-won last year’s Bathurst 1000.

- This marked the first victory of the season for Erebus Motorsport.

- Nick Percat finished a season-best second, driving for Tempur Racing. It marked his second consecutive podium; he finished third in Race #3. It also marked the fourth consecutive race in which he earned a season-best finish. It also marked the season-best finish for Brad Jones Racing.

- Percat earned his eighth career podium in the race, matching a career-best second podium of the season. He also earned two podiums in 2014 and 2016.

- Jamie Whincup finished third, earning a fourth consecutive podium, and fourth podium in this weekend’s Melbourne 400. He won Race #2 and finished second in Races #1 and #3. It marked his 215th career podium.

- Whincup was the polesitter. It was the 74th pole position of his career, and second of the season, which ties his total in 2017.

- Chaz Mostert finished fourth in his 150th Supercars Championship race, marking his sixth top-10 finish to open the 2018 season. Mostert was the highest-finishing Ford driver.

- Scott Pye, who won Race #3, rounded out the top-five, claiming his fifth top-10 finish of the season. His worst finish of the season was 11th.

- Shell V-Racing Power Team teammates Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin finished sixth and seventh respectively. McLaughlin has finished in the top 10 in five races this season.

- Michael Caruso was the highest-finishing Nissan driver, finishing eighth, which ties a season-best effort he also achieved in Race #2 of the Melbourne 400.

- Garth Tander (ninth) and Will Davison (10th) each earned their third top-10 finishes of the season.

- Points leader Shane van Gisbergen finished 13th for the second consecutive race, making up 13 positions to become the race’s hard charger.

- Other drivers that earned or tied season-best finishes were: Andre Heimgartner (14th); Anton de Pasquale (15th); Simona de Silvestro (16th); and Richie Stanaway (18th).

- James Golding, James Courtney and Rick Kelly failed to finish the race. It marked the third time this season in which three drivers retired in a race. It was the first retirement of the season for Courtney and Kelly and second for Golding.

- A total of 11 drivers improved on their starting position in the race.

- The next event will be the Tasmania Super Sprints, April 7-8, at Symmons Plains Raceway in Launceston, Tasmania.