The say the final moments of this year’s Bathurst 1000 were exciting would be an understatement – it was a dead set thriller.

After six hours, twenty-six minutes and fifty-two seconds on the Mount Panorama track the difference between the leading two V8 Supercars came down to just 0.29 seconds. The Toll Holden Racing Team pairing of Garth Tander and Nick Percat crossed the line first closely followed the Team Vodafone pairing of Bathurst veterans Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife.

With 21 laps to go Lowndes was running in seventh, but by lap 148 the seasoned competitor had made his way into second. It was all set up for a grandstand finish and that’s exactly what spectators and fans at home got. Four time winner Lowndes continued to push up on Tander but the rookie held his nerve and Lowndes couldn’t force his way through. Epic stuff and the winning margin of 0.2917s is the closest in the history of the great race. (more…)

Ex F1 champ Jenson Button has become the first person to ever run an F1 car around Australia’s iconic Mount Panorama Bathurst circuit.

In a special event that took place in the build-up to the Australian GP, Vodafone took Button and Aussie V8 Supercar driver Craig Lowndes to Mount Panorama to have a little fun and make history. The two drivers traded laps in a 2008 McLaren MP4-23 Formula 1 car.

Button took the honours of getting on to the track first and ran five laps of the circuit he clocked in a best lap of 1:48 before coming in and giving Lowndes a turn. Lowndes, always the professional, did very well in his laps, recording a best of 1:49. Lowndes also became the first Australian to take an F1 car around Bathurst, an honour Mark Webber may have liked.

Check out a video below of the two drivers taking the F1 car around the mountain. (more…)

In what was an action packed Bathurst 1000 race for 2010, Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife lead TeamVodafone to a record-making win at yesterday’s great race.

Lowndes provided an epic stint at the wheel of the Holden for an incredible 79-laps of the iconic 6.2km Mt Panorama circuit on Sunday to secure his fifth Bathurst crown and Skaife’s sixth.

It got even better for Team Vodafone with the No.1 car of Jamie Whincup and Steve Owen crossing the line second in the first one-two finish at Bathurst since 1984.

“It’s a dream come true really for us,” Lowndes told the press after the pair finally cracked the title they couldn’t win as teammates at Holden Racing Team a decade ago.

“Not to be able to do it back then and come so close, so many times, and then to have a 10-year break and to get the old band back together – it’s pretty special,” Lowndes said.

Skaife, who has only returned to the sport as a co-driver for endurance races after retiring from the main game in 2008, said the victory was as sweet as any of his other triumphs at the track and he paid full tribute to Lowndes for his unbroken 489km effort.

Lowndes made a new record in the process crossing the line with a fastest race time of six hours 12mins 51secs following the 161-lap great race that was slowed by four safety car periods.

The previous record was held by Jim Richards and Mark Skaife when they won in six hrs 19 min 14.8s in the Nissan GT-R in 1991.Skaife has now taken his record at Mount Panorama to a mighty six wins and stands equal with Larry Perkins and one short of Jim Richards to sit third on the list of most wins behind the legendary Peter Brock (nine wins).

It was also the fifth time that Craig Lowndes has clapped his hands on the trophy, which is now named in honour of Brock.

TeamVodafone executed its plan to start Skaife in the race when it was known that conditions were dry. Skaife smartly stayed just off the pace behind leader Lee Holdsworth until lap 24 when he came in and handed it over to Lowndes who did 24 laps before it was Skaife’s turn again.

Lowndes then completed the last 79 laps of the race in a demonstration of tremendous concentration and staying power at one of the most demanding racetracks in the world.