A post-race penalty has dropped Jamie Whincup from second to 14th in the results from the opening leg of the WD-40 Phillip Island 500.

Whincup has received a 38 second post-race time penalty for turning off his pitlane speed limiter prior to reaching the end of pitlane following his first pitstop.

That breached Rule C15.4.2, which states that "the Limiter must be activated at all times while a Car is moving in Pit Lane".

Whincup had held off arch rival Scott McLaughlin through two pitstop cycles – the cars pitting together on both occasions.

McLaughlin eventually found a way through at Turn 2 with 17 laps to go, taking the win and a one-point lead over Whincup in the championship.

That gap has now blown out to 76 points, with Whincup fourth in the standings behind McLaughlin, David Reynolds and Shane van Gisbergen.

Stewards confirmed the penalty this evening, noting that data from all cars was checked as part of a review by Sporting & Technical Director, David Stuart.