Waters wins Townsville Supercars race

Cameron Waters adopted a smart pitlane strategy to win the Townsville Supersprint. (AAP)

Cameron Waters has ended Red Bull Ampol Racing's Supercars dominance in Townsville, winning the opening race of the Supersprint on Saturday.

Pitting just before race leader Anton De Pasquale, the Monster Energy Driver then snuck past the pole position holder on lap 18 of 39 to hold on for his fourth career win.

Waters and his team opted to commit to their compulsory stop before the Shell V-Power Racing team and while De Pasquale left the pits first, the Monster Energy Driver's warmer tyres allowed him to sneak past on turn two after battling alongside him down the back straight.

It turned out to be a perfectly timed manoeuvre to undercut De Pasquale, who finished second and retained a podium spot for the second consecutive weekend.

But it was a horror afternoon for Red Bull Ampol Racing, as both Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup were issued with 15 second time penalties for separate infringements.

Van Gisbergen said pre-race he would come out aggressively to make up for his sixth spot on the starting grid, and he wasted no time diving deep into corners before he sent Brodie Kostecki wide on turn 13 early in the race.

Amidst the early chaos, van Gisbergen forced Kostecki off the track as the cars rounded the back straight and when he sat in the pits for his penalty, he dropped from first to 18th.

The V8 championship leader fought his way through traffic to finish sixth overall.

Meanwhile, teammate Whincup was judged to exceed the pit lane speed limit after braking harshly behind Waters on lap 17, relegating him from a second-place finish to fifth, after the penalty was added on.

Blanchard Racing Team's Tim Slade was a huge winner in Race 17, recording the team's best result ever on Saturday.

Slade started 19th on the grid and finished in fourth position, with his team never placing higher than fifth previously.