Holden scored their first win of the season when former V8 Supercar champion Garth Tander prevailed in the first race at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.
Tander passed polesitter and current champion Jamie Whincup after the fuel and tyre stop on lap 58 and went on to win from James Courtney and Lee Holdsworth.
After an encouraging qualifying performance from the New Zealanders with four kiwis in the top 12 on the grid, it was Fabian Coulthard who proved best in the Bundaberg Red Holden, finishing seventh.
Shane Van Gisbergen, Jason Richards, Coulthard and Greg Murphy all featured in the top 12 in qualifying, but Murphy and Richards did not finish, forced out mid-race while Van Gisbergen, after pressuring Tander in third, broke a suspension pin when he clipped a tyre barrier and limped home in 22nd.
Of the other New Zealanders, Steven Richards finished 17th and Daniel Gaunt has his best finish of the season in 18th.
There is a further qualifying period on Sunday ahead of the second 250 kilometre race.
