Motorsport: Mostert monsters best to claim first V8s victory of season

Chaz Mostert.

Ford's rising star Chaz Mostert has beaten two of V8 Supercars' best to claim his first victory of the season in what proved a battle of tyre strategy in Perth yesterday.

Mostert led home Holden veteran and polesitter Craig Lowndes by 2.17secs in the final race of the weekend under cloudy skies at Barbagallo Raceway.

Championship leader and Mostert's Ford Performance Racing teammate Mark Winterbottom finished third, with defending champion Jamie Whincup and Holden's Fabian Coulthard rounding out the top five. After delivering an historic win for Volvo on Saturday, Kiwi Scott McLaughlin struggled to keep up with the pack, his S60 struggling with understeer, to finish 17th.

"It's fantastic, I'm just so lucky," said Mostert, who joined the factory-backed FPR this year.

"It's a dream come true this weekend."

Lowndes, Winterbottom and Mostert led the pack for the opening 25 laps, with less than a second separating the trio before the first round of pitstops.

Winterbottom was the last of the three to get a new set of tyres, forcing him to slip behind stablemate Mostert. "We split the odds a little bit ... but it was awesome for Chaz," said the reigning Bathurst winner, who leads the championship by 101 points over Lowndes.

"He needed that for his confidence, it'll be pretty scary to see what he can do the rest of the year."

Mostert, 22, endured a poor start to the season, but has found some form in recent weeks, claiming four podiums in the past six races.

His triumph yesterday denied Lowndes a 16th win at the Western Australian circuit and the record for most victories at a single track.

The 39-year-old equalled Mark Skaife's tally on Saturday, when he took line honours in the second of the day's two 100km sprints.

The afternoon was miserable for a number of other drivers, with the abrasive, high-braking track wreaking havoc on their tyres.

The Mercedes of both Will Davison and Lee Holdsworth suffered punctures within a few laps of each other early in the race.

Drivers will enjoy a five-week break before the next round in Darwin from June 20.

- AAP