Scott McLaughlin and Jonathan Webb continued from where they left off in V8 SuperTourers with a dominant win in the first 52 lap leg of three that form this weekend’s Pukekohe 500.

The MPC Trade Direct duo qualified second in the morning’s Top Ten Shootout, but McLaughlin made quick work of pole sitter Jack Perkins in the M3 Racing Mike Pero Mortgages car at the first turn and was able to move quickly away to a three or four car length lead.

Perkins gave chase well, but blotted his copybook with a spin at Castrol on lap 21 that dropped him down the order at the worst possible time – just a couple of laps from his pit stop. The change over to Murphy – who took the spectacular pole position in the morning – was quick enough, but he came out with plenty of work to do to catch the leaders.

McLaughlin pitted late with a safe lead, handing a nine second lead to Jono Webb. That was enough for the Holden duo, but the interest lay behind as a great drive by Murphy brought him close to Kayne Scott in third and Surprise package Richard Moore in second as the race entered its final stages. The M3 Skinny Mobile team had benefitted from a great opening stint by Owen Kelly. As the laps counted down, Murphy closed in on Scott and out-braked him into the hairpin on lap 44. Next in line was Moore and Murphy showed no mercy for his team mate with an identical pass at the hairpin the next time around for second.

Scott – building on a great first stint by Simon Evans in the Team 4 Peak Oil Holden, followed suit with a pass on Moore with two laps to run and that was how it stayed with McLaughlin and Webb taking the honours ahead of Murphy and Perkins and Scott and Evans in third. Moore and Kelly hung on to fourth, while Andy Booth and Tony D’Alberto recovered from a slow stop to climb back up to fifth in the Woodstock Holden.

Ant Pedersen and Matt Halliday were the first Ford home for International motorsport in their JA Russell backed car, on a day when the Ford V8ST’s were largely out of the picture.

Tasman dup Daniel Gaunt and Andrew Waite were seventh, with Andre Heimgartner and Paul Morris eighth, Jonny Reid and Wade Cunningham taking ninth and Chris Pither and Andrew Miedecke rounding out the top ten in the United Videos Ford.

Championship leader John McIntyre had a nightmare race, with Jono Lester encountering a repeat of a steering rack problem that had blighted the team all day and electrical gremlins on top of that. They eventually retired, the second retirement of the day after Colin Corkery and Jeroen Bleekemolen were side-lined early with engine maladies.