Motorsport: Lowndes crowned Bathurst king

Craig Lowndes driver of the #888 Team Vodafone Holden celebrates on the podium after he and teammate Mark Skaife won the Bathurst 1000. Photo / Getty Images

BATHURST - Holden legends Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife have won the Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar race at Mt Panorama.

The TeamVodafone pair today took out the 1000km endurance classic at the iconic 6.2km circuit ahead of stablemates Jamie Whincup and Steve Owen in the first one-two team finish since 1984.

Defending champion Garth Tander was third for Holden Racing Team to complete a Red Lion sweep of the podium.

The win came on the back of a tremendous 79-lap stint by the now five-time Bathurst champion, while the victory is Skaife's sixth at the famous track.

There was heartbreak though for Tander's HRT teammate Will Davison, who was in third place when he hit the wall and crashed out with just eight laps remaining.

Polesitter Mark Winterbottom also saw his Bathurst dream disappear when co-driver Luke Youlden clipped a wall at the Cutting, the Ford Performance Racing team eventually finishing ninth.

Garry Rogers Motorsport duo Lee Holdsworth and David Besnard were the race's early leaders, Besnard spending a thrilling 30-lap period trying to hold off Lowndes.

But the Holden pair's hopes of an unlikely win were dashed due to a drive-through penalty when Besnard exceeded the speed limit coming onto pitlane and the team finished seventh.

Ford driver James Courtney came in fifth to be the highest-placed Falcon, just behind Holden's Jason Bright.

Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen was in sixth position late in the race but a tyre problem saw him go off the track and drop out of contention.

Fellow Kiwi Greg Murphy showed good pace on a track he';s enjoyed plenty of success on in the past, making a late play to get his Holden up to seventh.

- AAP