Davison hangs on in Pukekohe thriller

Will Davison has denied local hero Andre Heimgartner in a gripping ITM Auckland SuperSprint opener.

Davison, who celebrated his 40th birthday last week, won for the third time this season.

The Shell V-Power Racing Team driver last won in New Zealand in 2013.

Davison was forced to hang on after a late Safety Car, but Heimgartner was unable to overhaul the #17.

Pole-sitter Cam Waters finished third ahead of Chaz Mostert and Shane van Gisbergen.

Five different teams were represented in the top five.

Davison didn't take home the maximum 105 points, with van Gisbergen stealing the fastest lap of the race on the last lap.

"I just wanted a straightforward run," Davison said of the restart.

"I had to take a breath... it [the Safety Car] actually helped me, I cooled my front tyres.

"Once I got the restart underway, I was quite relieved because the car was great.

"Thanks Pukekohe, thanks New Zealand, it's an incredible stadium to be racing, really special."

Davison and teammate Anton De Pasquale swooped on Waters off the line into Turn 1.

Behind them, a four-wide melee ended with Tim Slade and James Courtney sustaining damage.

Slade and Courtney collided as James Golding and Nick Percat muscled down the inside.

Davison slowly began to open a gap as those behind battled for the minors.

On lap 2, van Gisbergen cleared Scott Pye at the hairpin and set off after Mostert.

Thomas Randle kicked off the pit cycle on lap 5. A gaggle of cars in the midfield stopped on the following lap, and it ended in disaster for Jake Kostecki.

Kostecki shed his left-rear wheel as Courtney stopped ahead, with Brodie Kostecki and Bryce Fullwood also implicated.

Traffic began to influence the leading pack, with Davison skipping away to a 1.9s lead.

The margin between the two Shell V-Power cars blew out to three seconds once De Pasquale stopped on lap 17.

Mostert stopped on the following lap, with Heimgartner following Waters in on the following lap.

Heimgartner jumped Waters in the lane, with Mostert slotting in behind.

Davison was brought in on lap 20, with van Gisbergen opting to go long until pitting on lap 25.

The series leader passed Pye for a second time on lap 27, also at the hairpin.

The bp Ultimate Safety Car neutralised the race with 10 laps remaining after Macauley Jones pulled over with damage.

Jones stopped his car on the exit of Turn 4, having sustained front-end damage.

The race restarted with five laps remaining, and Davison desperately tried to pull away.

Behind them, van Gisbergen pounced on De Pasquale and cleared the #17 Ford with a heart-stopping move.

Try as he might, Heimgartner was unable to pressure Davison into a mistake.

It was Davison's 22nd career win, and the second in a row for his team at Pukehohe.

Scott McLaughlin won the last race in September 2019 at the decorated Auckland venue.

Van Gisbergen will carry a reduced 493-point lead over Waters into Sunday.

Davison is just five points further in arrears, with De Pasquale now 533 points from the lead.

Drivers will send off Pukekohe on Sunday with two more 41-lap sprints.