The Auckland-born driver took the lead after the primary of two pit cycles on a moist 3.3km Taupō Worldwide Motorsport Park.
Heimgartner took benefit of Brad Jones Racing’s ace pitcrew, the practically perennial winner of Supercars’ groups pitstop rankings, to leap previous early chief Will Brown (Triple Eight Chevrolet), and held off Chaz Mostert for many of the first half of the race.
When Mostert fell from rivalry when a right-rear wheel got here adrift instantly after his second cease, Heimgartner motored dwelling to take a 1.01s victory.
“I’m speechless,” mentioned Heimgartner, whose ends in the final 5 races have been 18th, 18th, 14th, twentieth and seventeenth.
“I hoped to drive a bit cooler however he [Mostert] was throwing warning to the wind. It was fairly slippery, particularly once we went out on the brand new tyres. I at all times love the moist, it’s at all times good enjoyable!”
Second and third have been Dick Johnson’s two drivers Will Davison and Anton de Pasquale, and like Heimgartner it was an eye-opening reversal of type after each of their Ford Mustangs struggled for velocity on the earlier spherical at Albert Park.
Begin crash motion
Picture by: Edge Photographics
Fourth place was spectacular rookie Ryan Wood, because the 20-year-old New Zealander stayed away from quite a lot of early incidents and was dazzling within the changeable situations to provide Walkinshaw Andretti United a reward for displaying religion in such a younger driver.
Brown, who introduced a 17-point championship factors result in New Zealand, completed fifth on the highway however ninth within the general outcomes, after selecting up a penalty from an incident firstly of the race after one in all his wheelnuts rolled throughout the pitlane.
Jack Le Brocq flew the flag for Erebus Motorsport with a promoted fifth place after a heady drive from sixteenth on the grid, although it was a low-key return to Supercars for his team-mate Brodie Kostecki.
After beginning mid-pack the 2023 champion completed in sixteenth place, after selecting up a 15-second time penalty for carting James Courtney off the circuit on lap 15.
Richie Stanaway went from twenty third to sixth, having been up and down the sector, giving the soaked native followers three of their countrymen within the prime six.
James Golding (PremiAir Racing Chevrolet) and polesitter Cam Waters (Tickford Ford) have been subsequent, Waters making floor after being caught up in a startline incident, as Brown and Jaxon Evans rounded out the highest 10.
The web end result signifies that Brown (659) has prolonged his factors lead over Feeney (600), with Mostert third on 517. Along with his sturdy drive Stanaway jumps to fourth on 454 forward of Nick Percat.
A second 60-lap race is ready for Sunday at 3:05pm native time.