The race got off to a frantic start as van Gisbergen and Davison battled for the race lead.
Starting from pole, Davison was under fire from van Gisbergen from the start. Only on the second lap did the Kiwi find himself alongside the Shell Ford on the back straight, Davison retaining the lead only because he had a racing line at Dandenong Road.
Van Gisbergen then crept up on Davison in the final corner, his team-mate holding off Anton de Pasquale brought up the rear left guard when he was waved.
A subsequent injury took De Pasquale out of contention, but Davison was able to continue in second place with little more than rubbing the rear guard.
He almost got a crack at regaining the lead on the next lap when van Gisbergen ran a little wide at Turn 4, although the Red Bull Holden driver was able to hold on.
The pair then led the first leg by less than a second until van Gisbergen made a mandatory pit stop on lap 17.
Davison took the lead, opting for the crossing strategy usually favored by van Gisbergen and the Triple Eight.
He didn’t stop until lap 23, resuming behind van Gisbergen and just before the early pit stop Chaz Mostert.
After a brief challenge from Mostert, Davison was able to overcome van Gisbergen’s 2.5 second lead with his best rubber.
However, the Shell Ford driver was not quick enough, van Gisbergen masterfully handling the gap to take his second win of the day by four-tenths.
Van Gisbergen now has a 500-point lead in the series.
“It was really cool for the first few laps, what a battle,” van Gisbergen said. “It’s a pity that Anton was injured and we couldn’t fight it.
“[Davison] was very fast this weekend and I followed him yesterday and he was riding very well.
“In that race I knew I had to get him at the start, so I put maximum pressure on him. At the end I could see him going, I just tried to go as hard as I could. I didn’t look in the mirror, I just tried to keep pressing. It was wonderful.”
The early stop ended up proving costly for Mostert, who found himself under fire from Cam Waters as the second period wore on.
Waters then dropped out of contention for the podium when he shot off the track at Dandenong Road in an attempt to pass Mostert.
It opened the door for Brock Finney to track down Mostert, a rookie who took his second career podium and first since Tasmania in March.
Mostert finished fourth ahead Mark Winterbottom, Tim Slade and Scott Pye.
Thomas Randle and David Reynolds were next as Waters recovered in 10th place.
The 2022 Supercars season will resume early next month in New Zealand.
Sandown SuperSprint Race 3 results
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