Holden has won the first of three races in the Sprint Gas V8 Supercars Manufacturers Challenge at Albert Park after Toll HRT driver Garth Tander stormed to the opening victory of the Australian Grand Prix support event.

Tander took victory from Will Davison after leading from start-to-finish as Holden took the race by 678 points to 504, with his only cause for concern coming when the Safety Car was called out due to tyre bundles being moved onto the race circuit.

He was also somewhat surprised when the chequered flag came out two laps early due to time restraints.

“I got down to turn one and looked in the mirror… everyone was fighting and I just took off,” he said. “I looked after the car as much as I could; the brakes are a big issue around here. I was just dodging the tyres, which were all over the place.

“Apparently the race ended two laps early and I didn't know about it. They had to call me up on the radio and told me the race was over.”

The race didn't go to plan for Ford, with the Blue Oval's drivers getting involved in a number of battles throughout the 13 laps of racing. Ford Performance Racing's Steve Richards turned around Vodafone Craig Lowndes when the former tried to dive underneath his fellow Ford driver at Turn 15 on lap one. The contact forced Richards to retire, a disappointing start to a weekend where he is looking to repay the FPR team for building his car through the week. Lowndes managed to finish 13th.

“I thought there was an opportunity up the inside, so I thought that I would have a go,” Richards said. “I don't think he gave me enough room, but that's how it goes.”

James Courtney and Jason Bright also had a major coming together later in the race as Ford's challenge was derailed.

Holden Special Vehicles Dealer Team's Rick Kelly eventually finished third behind Tander and Davison, with Holden now taking the inside of the grid and Ford the outside for the second race on Saturday.