Despite a penalty, Heimgartner wins his first race

On pole for only the second time in his career, Andre Heimgartner put himself in a very good position for the first race of the weekend at The Bend. Surprised at the start by Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) and Anton de Pasquale (DJR), the pilot of the Kelly Whole grained Racing managed to regain the reins before going into demonstration mode.

In the lead at the end of the first loop, the Kiwi showed his solidity by taking more than a second per lap from each of his rivals. After the 5th crossing of the line and before the first refueling stops, Andre Heimgartner was more than 6 seconds ahead of his closest pursuer Chaz Mostert.

We are away for Race 9! Mostert gets a great jump on Heimgartner! #RepcoSC pic.twitter.com/b3YeIlXfeE

— Supercars (@supercars) May 8, 2021

Mostert runs wide and loses the lead! Heimgartner is back in front  #RepcoSC pic.twitter.com/Phq4LKhxpf

— Supercars (@supercars) May 8, 2021

Passing through his pit at the end of the 7th lap of the race, the Kelly Grove Racing resident continues his recital on the track by relegating Chaz Mostert to almost 5 seconds upon his return to the track.

Even penalized (5 seconds applied after the race for an incident in the pit lane with Jamie Whincup), Andre Heimgartner continued to crush everything in his path by definitively taking cover at the start of the 14th lap.

Plenty of hip and shoulder between Heimgartner and Whincup!  #RepcoSC pic.twitter.com/MmRArqW0AW

— Supercars (@supercars) May 8, 2021

With more than 8 seconds ahead of Chaz Mostert, the New Zealander will ultimately never be worried by his penalty as he mastered his subject this Saturday on the wet asphalt of The Bend.

In the end, Andre Heimgartner won ahead of Chaz Mostert with a 4" lead (after penalty) and Anton de Pasquale. This is his first victory in Supercars after 9 starts.

Championship leader Shane van Gisbergen (Triple Eight) had a difficult first race. Having moved from 8th to 3rd place at the start, the New Zealander let more than 10 seconds slip away when he refueled, seeing his hopes of victory go up in smoke.

A disaster stop for Red Bull  #RepcoSC pic.twitter.com/0Ub1iCsqnP

— Supercars (@supercars) May 8, 2021

7th at the finish, the 2016 champion remains in the lead with 140 points ahead of his teammate Jamie Whincup and 142 over Chaz Mostert. Andre Heimgartner is 8th, 404 units behind the leader.