Motorsport: Lowndes and Skaife zero in on victory at Bathurst

Craig Lowndes crosses the line at Phillip Island. Photo / Getty Images

For the first time since he won his ninth Bathurst 1000, Peter Brock's Mount Panorama benchmark is starting to look shaky.

Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife - now the strength in V8 Supercar endurance - are zeroing in on the ultimate greatness after victory in the traditional lead-up race on Sunday.

The Holden duo won the L&H 500 at Phillip Island for the second consecutive year - and last year used the triumph as a springboard to win Bathurst.

Skaife has won Bathurst six times and Lowndes five, and showed they are capable of moving one step closer to the late, great Brock's remarkable record with near-faultless drives at Phillip Island.

Three weeks out from Bathurst, their team and car are seemingly bulletproof - Lowndes and Skaife leading home a Team Vodafone 1-2.

Time - and in Skaife's case - going part-time doesn't seem to have dulled either 37-year-old Lowndes or 44-year-old Skaife's driving abilities.

And luck is riding with them, with two slices of misfortune befalling second-placed Jamie Whincup and co-driver Andrew Thompson on Sunday which helped the veterans no end.

Thompson was leading the 113-lap race but a damaged driver's side door - from a tap earlier in the race by Skaife - stopped him getting a quick exit from the car to hand over to Whincup.

That gifted Lowndes and Skaife the race lead.

Then Whincup was cruelled by having to wait for Lowndes to complete a pit stop done in a crowded pit lane, after wild geese crossing the track brought out a safety car.

"No doubt Jamie had the car speed, but when we came into that pit stop they had to wait for us to get serviced and that put them behind the eight-ball in terms of track position," Lowndes said.

"It's been a pretty smooth weekend for us as a team.

"It's going to be a hard battle Bathurst but to drive with Skaifey again, it's really been fantastic."

The win also boosted Lowndes' championship push at Whincup's expense.

Lowndes has cut Whincup's series lead to 92 points.

Ford's Will Davison and Luke Youlden took third in Sunday's race, with Holden's Garth Tander fourth.

Tander's co-driver Nick Percat produced the drive of the day.

The South Australian 23-year-old stalled his car on the grid, and was then forced to start from pit lane - last of the 28 cars.

But Percat, who drives in the second-tier development series, kept his cool and powered his way up to fourth place before handing over to Tander.

Tander grabbed the lead in a gripping swordfight with Lowndes at one stage, before fading tyres took their toll.

- AAP