Jamie Whincup was unable to convert his record 58th pole position into a win on Saturday, with Shane van Gisbergen claiming the opening race of this weekend’s V8 Supercars round at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Van Gisbergen’s Holden crossed the line more than nine seconds ahead of veteran Garth Tander in the championship’s first wet race since November 2011 at Sandown.

“It wasn’t easy, but the car made my job easier,” said the Kiwi victor.

It was a remarkable result for Tander, who – driving a brand new Holden Racing Team Commodore – started from 14th.

Red Bull Racing’s Craig Lowndes finished third, ahead of teammate and series leader Whincup in fourth.

Whincup had qualified fastest for the 100km race, surpassing the late Peter Brock’s record for the most pole positions in V8 Supercar-Australian touring car championship history.

Brock scored his last pole position at Oran Park in 1997, aged 52.

Whincup leads Mark Winterbottom by 41 points in the overall standings, with the Ford Performance Racing driver gaining five places to finish 12th.

It didn’t take long for the slippery track to claim its first casualties – Ford’s David Reynolds and Holden driver Tim Slade both retiring after clashing on the opening lap.

The incident sparked the first of two safety cars in the race – Volvo young gun Scott McLaughlin causing the second when he went off with power steering failure.

McLaughlin had been in second place before his exit and will require an engine change ahead of his scheduled start from pole in the day’s second race at 4.30pm (AEST).

Sydney Motorsport Park – formerly known as Eastern Creek Raceway – has only hosted two championship rounds since 2008, the last in 2012.

It’s the first time, however, the category’s new generation of cars has raced at the track, with Volvo, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz all making their debuts.

Lowndes is the only driver in the current field to win multiple times at the western Sydney circuit with five victories.