The Reds ended a four match losing streak to the Hurricanes when they held on for an 18-12 victory at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
The Reds had not beaten the Hurricanes since February 2007 when they won 25-16 in the Super 14.
The Reds scored the only tries of the match but were hanging on at the end of the match as Hurricanes had a try ruled out by the TMO.
Altthough they had more than enough opportunities to steal the result the Hurricanes had to settle for four Beauden Barrett penalties as they failed to snatch the victory in front of the 30,995 strong crowd.
The Reds led 18-9 early in the second half but survived several close shaves as the Hurricanes dominated possession and territory to have the home side under pressure in the final stages.
The Reds held on for a two tries to nil victory for their second win in this year's Super Rugby series after losing to the Brumbies in the opening round.
Wallabies Digby Ioane and lock Rob Simmons scored the Reds' tries, with Quade Cooper landing a conversion and two penalties.
The big moment in the match came four minutes from time when the Hurricanes thought they had scored the winning try through skipper Conrad Smith after Cooper's pass went astray over his try-line.
But the video referee found a knock on from replacement Chris Smylie in the leadup and the try was disallowed to the Hurricanes' astonishment.
The Reds scored the only tries of the contest with Ioane diving over in the corner in the 23rd minute and Simmons scoring his first Super Rugby try in his 51st game nine minutes into the second half .
The Reds are away to the Rebels in Melbourne next week, while the Hurricanes are at home to the Crusaders.
Reds captain James Slipper said they were "lucky" to win and praised his side's defence.
"We were playing in our own half and against a quality side like the Hurricanes you can't do that," Slipper said.
"It's a credit to the squad as to how hard we worked for each other and the defence we put up was phenomenal.
"Through good defence we were lucky to come away with a good win."
Final Score Reds 18 (11) Hurricanes 12 (9)
Scorers
Reds
Tries -D Ioane, R Simmons
Pen - Q Cooper 2
Con - Q Cooper
Drop -
Cards -
Hurricanes
Tries -
Pen - B. Barrett 4
Con -
Drop -
Cards -
Attendance: 11,206
Match Officials
Referee: Steve Walsh
Assistant Ref 1:Andrew Lees
Assistant Ref 2:Damien Mitchelmore
TMO : Steve Leszczynski
Teams
Reds
1. Greg Holmes,2. Saia Faingaa,3. James Slipper (c),4. Rob Simmons,5. Ed O'Donoghue,6. Eddie Quirk,7. Liam Gill,8. Jake Schatz,9. Ben Lucas,10. Quade Cooper,11. Digby Ioane,12. Ben Tapuai (vc),13. Chris Feauai-Sautia,14. Dom Shipperley,15. Aidan Toua
Replacements :16. James Hanson,17. Albert Anae,18. Adam Wallace-Harrison,19. Radike Samo,20. Nick Frisby,21. Mike Harris,22. Luke Morahan
Hurricanes
1. Ben Franks,2. Dane Coles,3. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen,4. Jeremy Thrush,5. Jason Eaton,6. Victor Vito,7. Karl Lowe,8. Brad Shields,9. TJ Perenara,10. Beauden Barrett,11. Julian Savea,12. Tim Bateman,13. Conrad Smith (c),14. Alapati Leiua,15. Andre Taylor
Replacements :16. Motu Matu'u ,17. Reggie Goodes,18. James Broadhurst,19. Faifili Levave,20. Chris Smylie,21. James Marshall,22. Reynold Lee-Lo
