Waters outlasts SVG in OTR SuperSprint finale

Cameron Waters has outlasted Shane van Gisbergen in an enthralling finale to the OTR SuperSprint.

In his return to The Bend Motorsport Park, the site of his last race victory last September, Waters was resolute in the 24-lapper.

It marked the third win of the weekend for Ford in as many starts, and a third different team on the top step of the podium this weekend.

It marked a third race victory for Waters in 169 starts, and just his second solo win.

The Tickford Racing driver launched from third for the weekend finale, having failed to finish the earlier race following a first-lap incident.

Pole man and Race 10 winner Anton De Pasquale dragged to the first corner with Jamie Whincup, with the latter hugging the left apron.

With Whincup vulnerable, Waters moved into second behind De Pasquale, with van Gisbergen slotting into fourth.

Just as De Pasquale began to find a rhythm, the #11 Shell V-Power Racing Team Mustang suffered an engine misfire.

The lead fell into the lap of Waters, with De Pasquale wasting no time in returning to the lane and retiring the car.

Whincup and van Gisbergen swapped positions in a simple move at Turn 1, with Waters beginning to eke out a gap.

By the end of lap 5, Waters enjoyed a 2.4s lead over van Gisbergen, but the championship leader began to show his impressive first-stint pace, halving the gap by lap 7.

WATCH: INTENSE BATTLE INTO TURN 1

Will Davison and Tim Slade stopped at the end of lap 5, with Whincup pulling in from third three laps later.

The undercut allowed Davison through, with Whincup sandwiched between the two Fords.

Eyeing his first stop, Waters extended his lead to 1.9s by lap 10, but van Gisbergen again returned serve, closing the gap to 1.3s by the time Waters stopped on lap 12.

Waters was followed in by Mostert, and the effective leader returned to the race with a slender 0.6s gap over Davison.

WATCH: DE PASQUALE OUT WITH ENGINE DRAMA

Whincup, who was 0.9s adrift of Davison, was trailed by Slade, who in turn was overtaken by Mostert.

Chasing his first win since The Bend last season, Waters had extended his margin over Davison to two seconds by the time van Gisbergen stopped at the end of lap 15.

A clean stop, coupled with a strong opening stint, allowed van Gisbergen to slot in just behind Waters.

It took just two laps for van Gisbergen to make his first move, again at Turn 1, but a resolute Waters set about defending the lead he inherited on the third lap.

WATCH: WATERS BREAKS WIN DROUGHT

The margin between the two leaders plateaued at 0.4s as van Gisbergen attempted to force Waters into an error, the 2016 champion struggling to follow around the 4.95km circuit.

However, unlike the Race 3 thriller at Sandown in March, Waters didn’t cede the lead to the rampant Kiwi on the final tour, Waters hanging on for victory by just 0.696s.

Davison was 6.658s adrift in third, sealing a second straight podium ahead of Whincup.

Mostert was fifth ahead of Nick Percat, who again stopped late to score sixth after starting 10th.

WATCH: WATERS CELEBRATES IN STYLE

Van Gisbergen will take an extended 190-point series lead over Whincup to the next event, with Mostert 246 points down.

Davison retained fourth over Waters, albeit by 13 points.

"I’ve got no words," an elated Waters said.

"We had a fast car all weekend, we were quick in the wet, and you know what happened earlier.

"The boys worked so hard to fix the car, not just fix it but give me a fast car. They deserve this one.

"The car was nice in the race, it was a totally different car to what we have had the last two rounds.

"I knew Shane was quick; I just pick my moments when to be quick and give him some dirty air like he did to me last year, and let him blow his tyres off for a change.

"We have found a nice window in the car; we have been scratching our heads the last two events.

"It’s nice to get one up on him."

The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to Victoria for the Winton SuperSprint across May 29-30. Tickets are available here.

The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo with highlights on 7 and 7 Plus.