Defending champion Garth Tander and Will Davison claimed a dramatic victory in the Phillip Island 500 on Sunday when leader Craig Lowndes suffered tyre problems on the final lap.
Lowndes, in a Ford, pulled off a masterly pass on Tander with 15 of the 113 laps remaining to seize the lead and was cruising to the finish line until turn six of the final lap of the V8 Supercars event.
As his front tyre began flapping badly Lowndes had no choice but to let Tander through and the Holden star went on to win by 2.6 seconds.
Mark Winterbottom and Steve Richards, who started from pole, were third in their Ford Performance Racing Falcon. Sydney Morning Herald
“Them’s the breaks,” Lowndes admitted. “This is motorsport where you have highs and lows, unfortunately today we finished on a low.”
“The tyre started to go five laps from the end and with one lap remaining I just couldn’t turn left.”
“Now I know how Jamie felt last year, but it now gives us both enormous motivation for Bathurst,” he said.
Winning driver Garth Tander was understandably rapt with the win.
“A fantastic win for the Toll Holden Racing Team, our supporters, and especially Holden which celebrates its 40th anniversary of official factory involvement in motorsport tomorrow,” he said.
“I was in fuel saving mode for a little while towards the end, but once we’d got past that they said to me on the radio as I began the last lap ‘go as hard as you can and see what happens’.”
“It was an amazing race – to go 500kms absolutely flat out, and there was pretty much less than two seconds separating us all race, was incredible.” Sportal.com.au
Davison said afterwards he had ‘‘all the faith in the world in ‘GT’ ‘’, but admitted he was ready to accept second place after a gruelling day.
‘‘We’d already had a little chat and said we’ll use this as motivation for Bathurst, but in this sport you never give up,’’ Davison said.
‘‘It was just a great fight all day, the race threw it all at us, debris, oil and no one blinked really. Great to be a part of (and) look out Bathurst, it’s going to be a great battle.’‘
As the race leaders set the pace Team BOC’s Cameron McConville had the scariest moment of his V8 Supercar career.
On lap 21 McConville speared off the track at turn one, at the end of the main straight, when his Holden Commodore came into contact with Steve Owen in the Team Autobarn Commodore.
McConville said afterwards that Owen blocked his line, calling it ‘‘the most amateur thing’’ he had ever seen in motor sport.
‘‘It ruined our race,’’ a disgusted McConville said.
‘‘He (Owen) kept blocking the inside line, which obviously when you’re in the main game you understand you can’t do.
‘‘I had a run at the inside and he just turned and clipped my wheel at 280km/h, so sorry to the boys because we had a fast car, but that’s what happens with once-a-year racers, I suppose.’’ The Age
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