Motorsport: Holden stars end their 10-year itch at Bathurst

New Zealander Fabian Coulthard's race was over before the completion of one lap when a spectacular barrel-rolling crash at the Chase wrecked his Bundy Red Racing Commodore. Photo / Getty Images

Spectacular crashes, kangaroos playing chicken and a fairytale finish for two greats of the sport - just another year for the V8 Supercars at the Bathurst 1000.

Yesterday's 1000km epic had all the incidents fans have come to expect at Mt Panorama but in the end it was a tremendous 79-lap stint by Holden star Craig Lowndes that stole the headlines.

The TeamVodafone ace battled his rivals, a deteriorating car and fatigue on the hill to claim his fifth Bathurst crown, in the process allowing co-driver Mark Skaife to make it six victories on the mountain.

The victory also completed a chapter for the former Holden Racing Team teammates that had never been closed - combining to win a Bathurst crown 10 years after their last attempt at the title together.

"It's a dream come true, really, for us after 10 years," Lowndes said.

"To not be able to do it back then and come so close, so many times, and then to have a 10-year break.

"It's pretty special."

And it was a case of double delight for the team with the No 1 car of Jamie Whincup and Steve Owen crossing the line second in the first one-two finish at the Great Race since 1984.

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.

He paid full tribute to Lowndes for his unbroken 489km effort.

"Unbelievable, it's very, very hard around here because the concentration level's extremely high," he said.

"You make a little mistake and you're in the fence.

"As the race goes on there's so many marbles just off-line that it just becomes a groove and if you're a little bit wide anywhere you pay a big penalty.

"That will go down as one of Craig's great drives, absolutely, no doubt."

As always at Bathurst, there were plenty of hard-luck tales to tell.

New Zealander Fabian Coulthard's race was over before the completion of one lap.

A spectacular barrel-rolling crash at the Chase wrecked his Bundy Red Racing Commodore.

Pole-sitter Mark Winterbottom, chasing his first Bathurst crown, saw his challenge fade after co-driver Luke Youlden couldn't correct the effect of a delaminated tyre and clipped a wall near the Cutting.

And Garry Rogers Motorsport pair David Besnard and Lee Holdsworth went from battling with Lowndes for the front to mid-pack after a drive-through penalty for exceeding the pitlane's speed limit.

Defending champion Will Davison, on course for his first podium of a wretched 2010, crashed into a wall with eight laps left.

And when a door fell off during a change with co-driver Cameron McConville, third-place finisher Garth Tander felt his day could go the same way.

"At the second pit-stop when the door was on the ground I thought 'this is going to be a long day'," the Holden Racing Team pilot said.

"Great result for the team and just unfortunate that Will had his moment at the top of the hill because I thought those guys did a really good job all day.

"For us, we weren't quite fast enough in the early part of the race."

- AAP