A stunning come-from-behind drive in Sydney has delivered Shane van Gisbergen his first Supercars championship, denying Jamie Whincup a record seventh title.

The Holden gun finished third behind his Red Bull Racing teammate Whincup in the opening race of the season-ending round for an unassailable points lead.

But he had looked unlikely to close it out on Saturday after copping an early drive-through penalty.

The Kiwi – who started on pole position – paid the price for spinning reigning champion Mark Winterbottom’s Ford, sending van Gisbergen towards the back of the grid.

A safety car with 25 laps to go helped shoot him up to ninth, before clawing his way up to third with some superb driving and brave passing.

The result takes his lead over Whincup to 170 points, more than the 150 on offer in Sunday’s final race.

He becomes the first New Zealand-born driver to win an Australian touring car crown since Jim Richards in 1991.

Van Gisbergen had been considered a mercurial talent since he started racing in the category in 2007 as a gung-ho 18-year-old.

But after switching to the factory-backed Red Bull outfit this season from the family-run Tekno Autosports, the 27-year-old has been incredibly consistent and measured.

He finished on the podium in each of the past eight races leading up to the finale, including Sandown, Bathurst and Gold Coast.

Three of those were wins, while Whincup took out the other five.

Van Gisbergen’s hot form continued on the streets of Olympic Park, setting a new lap record in practice on Friday before smashing it again in qualifying.

The season ends with a second 74-lap race on Sunday, the last time Sydney will host the finale before it heads to Newcastle in 2017.