Autosport.com - Lowndes, Whincup win Bathurst again Team Vodafone's Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup have taken back-to-back victories at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 after a hard-fought race which ended with a tight and tense finish under damp conditions.
Lowndes took the lead for the final time in tricky conditions on lap 155 of 161, managing to just hold out Jim Beam Racing's Steven Johnson and Will Davison, Jeld-Wen Motorsport's James Courtney and David Besnard and Tasman Motorsport's Greg Murphy and Jason Richards to the chequered flag.
The final result saw an all-Ford podium, with the top four drivers covered by just 1.2 seconds at the finish.
While the race had been a hard fight even in the early stages, cars closely matched and drivers running a frantic pace, the rain in the closing stages led to a dramatic finish, with strong contenders Steven Richards and Mark Winterbottom suffering in the conditions, falling out of the lead, but recovering to finish tenth.Pos Drivers Car Time
1. Craig Lowndes/Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon BF 6h29:10.1985
2. David Besnard/James Courtney Ford Falcon BF + 0.6238
3. Will Davison/Steven Johnson Ford Falcon BF + 0.8160
4. Greg Murphy/Jason Richards Holden Commodore VE + 1.1712
5. Richard Lyons/Allan Simonsen Ford Falcon BF + 8.3128
6. Steve Owen/Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore VZ + 9.3294
7. Jason Bargwanna/Max Wilson Ford Falcon BF + 11.8338
8. Alex Davison/Andrew Thompson Ford Falcon BF + 14.6462
9. Cameron McLean/Greg Ritter Holden Commodore VE + 17.8800
10. Steven Richards/Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon BF + 18.3579
11. Nathan Pretty/Glenn Seton Holden Commodore VE + 28.3388
12. Paul Dumbrell/Paul Weel Holden Commodore VE + 31.7890
13. Matt Halliday/Owen Kelly Ford Falcon BF + 1:15.1621
14. John Bowe/Jonathon Webb Ford Falcon BF + 1 lap
15. Michael Caruso/Grant Denyer Ford Falcon BF + 2 laps
16. Fabian Coulthard/Chris Pither Holden Commodore VZ + 2 laps
DNF Russell Ingall/Luke Youlden Ford Falcon BF
DNF Jason Bright/Adam Macrow Ford Falcon BF
DNF Todd Kelly/Mark Skaife Holden Commodore VE
DNF Shane van Gisbergen/John McIntyre Ford Falcon BF
DNF Steve Ellery/Paul Morris Holden Commodore VE
DNF Mark Noske/Jay Verdnik Holden Commodore VE
DNF Craig Baird/Paul Radisich Holden Commodore VE
DNF Rick Kelly/Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE
DNF Alan Gurr/Warren Luff Ford Falcon BF
DNF Dean Canto/Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE
DNF Jack Perkins/Shane Price Holden Commodore VE
DNF Marcus Marshall/Kayne Scott Holden Commodore VE
DNF Andrew Jones/Simon Wills Ford Falcon BF
DNF Cameron McConville/David Reynolds Holden Commodore VE