Motorsport: Holden stars end team's Bathurst drought

Kiwi driver Greg Baird negotiates a corner during racing today at Bathurst. Photo / Getty Images

Holden drivers Garth Tander and Will Davison have won the Bathurst 1000, overcoming a variety of weather conditions to win Australia's best-known V8 Supercar race.

Tander and Davison led for the majority of the 161-lap, 1000km race around Mount Panorama.

But they also had a late slice of luck when a safety car period with 20 laps remaining elevated them from third to first as the two leading cars were forced to pit and lose track position.

Tander and Davison led home a Holden 1-2-3.

New Zealander Jason Richards and Cameron McConville finished second, with Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso third.

It is Holden's first win at Bathurst since 2005 and breaks Ford duo Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup's run of three successive victories.

Lowndes and Whincup finished fifth.

It is Tander's second triumph at Mt Panorama, after the 32-year-old also won the race in 2000.

It is 27-year-old Davison's first win at Bathurst.

The race changed complexion entirely with 20 laps to go.

Part-time Holden drivers Greg Ritter and David Besnard, and Holden veterans Mark Skaife and Greg Murphy sat first and second and looked on track to fight out the finish.

But Ford driver Dean Canto crashed on lap 141, bringing out the safety car and giving a huge advantage to cars which had already made their final pit stops for fuel.

That put Tander in the lead - an advantage he managed to hold despite another safety car period with three laps remaining.

Tander had opened up a five second advantage which was erased after Tony Ricciardello beached his car, setting up a three-lap sprint to the finish.

That led to plenty of action behind Tander, with Richards fighting his way up to second and Holdsworth having to hold off a late-charging Murphy to keep a podium finish.

Murphy and Skaife eventually finished fourth, with Ritter and Besnard sliding to ninth.

Mark Winterbottom said his fiery exit cost him his best chance to win the great race.

The rear of Winterbottom's Ford Performance Racing Falcon burst into flames on the 50th lap, ending he and co-driver Steven Richards' race while they were sitting in third position.

The 28-year-old, who finished fourth at Bathurst last year, was understandably frustrated by the incident, caused by the battery in the rear of the car coming loose and rupturing a fuel line.

But he was also relieved to escape a car which became a fireball by the time it reached pit lane - rival team crews having to extinguish his burning Ford and usher Winterbottom to safety.

"I think this was our best chance of winning Bathurst over the last four years. We've had some strong performances here," Winterbottom told AAP.

"It's pretty disappointing for everyone when you're in good shape and things happen and everyone sort of feels it.

"That's the first in-car fire I've had. I just drove to the marshal's post where they had the extinguishers and got out as fast as I could.

"That's the first time it's ever happened actually and it's pretty scary when you see the flames out the back. You're not sure if it's going to come into the car but the guys put it out really quickly so that took the fear away a bit."

Runner-up in last year's championship, Winterbottom has had a frustrating 2009, failing to win a race so far this season.

His problems have continued at Bathurst this weekend, an accident involving rookie Sam Winter on Saturday costing him a A$5000 ($6185) fine after he was found guilty of careless driving before Sunday's disaster.

Winterbottom was also caught up in separate incidents with Rick Kelly in Friday's practice session and Holden Racing Team star Garth Tander in Saturday's qualifying leg.

"This has hurt our championship a little bit because we get zero points," he said.

"I thought third was achievable but that's even harder now when other cars get points.

"The set-up changes we made for today were really good and hopefully will give us direction for the rest of the season.

"We'll try and dominate the last four rounds and if we can do that we'll build momentum for next year and write this year off."

- AAP