Motorsport: Ford's Reynolds returns to winner's podium after long drought

AAP

21 Jun, 2015 05:00 PM2 mins to read

David Reynolds turned his pole position in V8 Supercars into victory in Darwin, ahead of Chaz Mostert and Fabian Coulthard. Photo / Getty Images

Ford's David Reynolds has broken through for his first V8 Supercars win since 2013 in the final race of the round in Darwin.

Reynolds converted his well-earned pole position to victory yesterday afternoon, ahead of Prodrive Racing Australia stablemate Chaz Mostert and Holden's Fabian Coulthard.

He hasn't stood on the top step of the podium since the Gold Coast 21 months ago and it couldn't have come at a better time, with the 29-year-old off-contract at season's end.

"Awesome, awesome car to drive," Reynolds said, before divulging he'd been suffering from stomach pains just before the race.

Unlike Saturday's two sprints, yesterday's 70-lap feature was largely carnage-free with Mercedes' Ash Walsh the day's only retirement.

Coulthard had got the jump on Reynolds and held on for a dozen laps, before getting caught in traffic and slipping back two places.

Reynolds regained the lead, which chopped and changed several times as tyre strategies came into play.

Red Bull's bold move to pit early and don the quicker, soft rubber compound proved an early winner for Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes, who started from 12th and 15th respectively. The pair gained ground on the leaders with surprising speed, prompting rivals to rethink their plans.

But the newly resurfaced Hidden Valley circuit wreaked havoc on their tyres and forced them back into the pits to change to the hard compound.

The failed strategy saw Lowndes finish 15th and Whincup 22nd - further hurting their title standings after being docked points for their involvement in incidents on Saturday. Lowndes copped a 15-point penalty and Whincup a 25-point penalty.

Ford's Mark Winterbottom finished the race fifth but managed to extend his championship lead to 95 points over Lowndes.

Whincup, who came into the weekend fourth overall, has slipped back to eighth, while Mostert, who scored a victory and two podiums over the round's three races, moved to fourth.