Motorsport: Whincup reigns supreme in Hamilton

Team Vodafone driver, Jamie Whincup, won the Hamilton 400 today. Photo / Alan Gibson

V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup made it four from four for the season by claiming the Hamilton 400's second race today.

Whincup finished the 200km journey on the 3.4km street circuit ahead of James Courtney and Steven Johnson in a Ford clean sweep of the top three places.

The result continued a shift in the balance of power between Holden and Ford in the New Zealand round of the championship.

Before this weekend, Holden had won all but one of the previous 24 races on this side of the Tasman.

Lee Holdsworth, third in race one yesterday, was fourth this afternoon to be the first Holden home, while Ford driver Fabian Coulthard was the first New Zealander in fifth.

It marked a fine double for Coulthard, who was also the leading New Zealander in race one, where he was sixth.

Whincup, who crashed out in qualifying in Hamilton last April, started race two from fourth on the grid but took the lead thanks to his team's pit strategy.

He was running fourth when he pitted early, after just 19 laps.

By the time those who had been in front of him had completed their stops, Whincup had hit the front and stayed there to the finish.

Local favourite Greg Murphy had his best result in the two years of the Hamilton 400, finishing eighth to be the one other New Zealander in the top 10.

- NZPA