Whincup pulls away at Phillip Island

Ford driver Jamie Whincup put more distance between himself and Will Davison on the V8 Supercars Championship ladder with victory in the first race at the Phillip Island 300 on Saturday.

After a disappointing round at Super GP on the Gold Coast, Whincup led the title race by just 32 points, but the Phillip Island win gave him some breathing room.

He finished 1.8 seconds ahead of the Holden trio of Davison, Rick Kelly and Garth Tander.

After trailing Davison early, Whincup got the best of his rival at the pit stop and led for the rest of the race.