SVG milestone, Kostecki on fire: Race 1 takeaways

The first race of the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship saw a number of key performances and milestones.

Shane van Gisbergen recorded his 41st career victory, taking him to seventh outright on the all-all-time winners' list.

The Kiwi entered this weekend level with Glenn Seton on 40 career wins.

It was also the third instance that van Gisbergen had won the first race of a new season, following victories on the streets of Adelaide in 2017 and 2018.

Saturday's result marked the 41st victory for the Holden Commodore ZB, which made its debut in 2018.

Only seven models have won more races, with the Commodore VF leading the way with 108 wins.

In a coincidence of sorts, the three drivers who stood on Saturday's podium also reached the rostrum at last October's Bathurst 1000.

Van Gisbergen won with Garth Tander, Will Davison was second alongside Cameron Waters, while Chaz Mostert was third with Warren Luff.

Waters claimed pole for the second race running on the mountain, having set a shootout record at last year's Bathurst 1000.

Mostert set the fastest lap of Saturday's race, with his 2:06.3483s on lap 33 more than three tenths quicker than the next best, being Scott Pye.

Such was Mostert's speed late in the race, that only he and Pye recorded laps in the 2:06s bracket.

Prior to his weekend-ending accident, Tim Slade recorded his first front-row start since his Winton pole position for Brad Jones Racing in 2016.

Jake Kostecki was the biggest mover on Saturday, rising an impressive 10 spots from 23rd to 13th. It marked the best solo result of his full-time career.

Race 1 also saw Mark Winterbottom equal his best result for Team 18, with the 2015 series champion rising from ninth to fourth.

Winterbottom is chasing his first podium since Perth 2018, and is now 79 race starts without a trophy.

The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to the track for Race 2 at 3:00pm AEDT on Sunday.

This weekend's event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and the Seven Network, and will be streamed on Kayo. Check out the full TV schedule here.