CRAIG Lowndes was gifted the second race of this long weekend’s round of the V8 Supercars after race leader Jamie Whincup went off the track in wet conditions on the second-last lap.
For most of the race, it appeared that Whincup would cruise to his second win of the weekend as he maintained a consistent two second margin over his Triple Eight Racing teammate Lowndes.
But things changed from lap 31 when a safety car was deployed from which time Lowndes applied the pressure until Whincup went off on lap 38.
From there Lowndes simply needed to survive the final one-and-a-half laps to take the chequered flag.
The one mistake cost Whincup two places as 19-year-old Shane Van Gisbergen, who had the drive of the race after starting from ninth on the grid, also passed him to go on and claim second. Fords again dominated the race with Russell Ingall being the best placed Holden driver in seventh.
Stone Brothers Racing’s Van Gisbergen was ecstatic with his first podium finish.
“Im absolutely loving it. It’s a great bunch of guys here we’re doing so much work to get ourselves up the front, we’re getting faster and faster but I just wish we had this pace in the dry,” Van Gisbergen said.
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