Brown warned, several cars damaged in wild Christchurch start

It took six races and nearly 700 kilometres of action, but the Shannons Safety Car finally made its first appearance in the ITM NZ Double Header after a lap 1 melee.

The two Taupō races and three preceding 120km sprints in Christchurch all ran green, but the Ruapuna finale wasn't even one lap old when the Safety Car was required.

Tickford Racing star Cam Waters was an early scalp of the race due to starter motor issues, being forced to start from the rear of the field.

As cars set off on the formation lap of Race 13, the Monster Energy Ford was stuck on the grid, dumping Waters down the order to last as the rest of the field took the start.

However, as Matt Payne converted pole position into an early lead, there was action aplenty behind.

Kai Allen vaulted from sixth to third, and Will Brown fourth to second, as front row starter Anton De Pasquale dropped behind into fourth.

A concertina effect at Turn 7 saw Rylan Gray spear into fellow rookie Jackson Walls, with Aaron Cameron yet again implicated in another lap 1 incident. Jayden Ojeda was also delayed.

Waters jumped to 18th by the restart, with teammate Thomas Randle and Cameron Hill also stopping.

The race restarted on lap 4, with an aggressive restart by Jason Richards trophy leader Ryan Wood muscling past De Pasquale at Turn 2.

Brown then aggressively blocked Allen, with the 2024 Supercars champion warned by officials over the defensive manoeuvre.

De Pasquale was shuffled back to 10th, as Wood recovered from his own poor start to sit sixth through the first standing lap. The Team 18 driver remonstrated over team radio, and was pulled in on lap 9 for his first stop.

De Pasquale kicked off a series of early stops for lead contenders, with Allen, Brown, Wood and Brodie Kostecki stopping. Allen passed Brown with an effective undercut.