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Jamie Whincup takes a corner - Source: Photosport
Ford's Jamie Whincup has given his hopes of back-to-back V8 Supercar championships a massive boost with victory at Barbagallo Raceway as his nearest rival Will Davison missed the podium.
Whincup now leads Holden Racing Team's Davison by 161 points after his win on Saturday with three races remaining this season.
The Team Vodafone driver made ideal use of his set of soft sprint tyres to open up a huge lead by the halfway stage of the 42-lap race, before swapping to normal tyres.
Once Whincup emerged from his pit stop, his lead was unassailable and he won comfortably from Holden driver Todd Kelly, with Ford's Mark Winterbottom third.
Davison finished fifth - one place ahead of Ford's Craig Lowndes who started the race from pole position.
Whincup now holds a comfortable buffer on Davison going into the final three races of the year.
The first of those is an 84-lap race on Sunday at Barbagallo, with the other two at the season finale in Sydney next month.
