MOTORSPORT: 2009 Bathurst 1000

The Holden Racing Team has denied Ford an historic fourth straight win by taking out the 2009 edition of the Bathurst 1000. Garth Tander and Will Davison dominated the race for most of the day but had to overcome a difficult period in the wet weather and a tight fuel strategy.

The win is Tander's second -- following his success in 2000 -- and Davison's first, and it puts both drivers in the hunt for the season title by closing the gap to leader Jaime Whincup. 

"I can't tell you how good this feels," Davison said. "This is just incredible."

The Albury-based Brad Jones Racing team scored another great Bathurst result with the Team BOC Holden of Jason Richards and Cameron McConville. Richards had set the pace earlier in the weekend and forced his way to the front of a seven-car pack in a thrilling final stint of the race.

Third place went to the Team Valvoline Commodore of young guns Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso as Holden locked-out the podium.

Greg Murphy drove a determined final stint to secure fourth place for the Sprint Gas Racing Holden he was sharing with Mark Skaife. The duo looked good for the win until a safety car about 20 laps to the end sent them back in the back.

But Murphy -- a four-time winner of the race -- didn't give up until the very last corner trying to claw back the lost positions. He missed the podium in a photo finish to Holdsworth in an enthralling final lap.
Whincup and teammate Craig Lowndes were in the hunt for a record fourth consecutive 1000 win until the final stages, despite having clutch problems over the last 40 laps. In the end they could only manage fifth place as Whincup fought against his injured car and a competitive pack of rivals.

It was a day to forget for Ford, though, with the Team Vodafone entry the only Falcon in the top 10; ironic given the high-profile split between the blue oval and the Queensland team.

Another hard-luck story was the Jack Daniel's Racing Holden of Todd and Rick Kelly. The brothers looked on course for a podium finish despite Rick having to fight an ill-handling car in his final stint. A late safety car gave the pack behind him to take a run on the final laps and he slipped from second to eighth in the final three laps.

But with less that 50 laps to go fuel consumption has become the major factor in the teams timing their finals pitstops. Some teams are confident of making only one stop, others will need one stop and a 'splash-and-dash' for fuel and other teams admits they need two stops for fuel.

Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup are in ninth place but once again in the positioned to claim other Peter Brock Trophy in their #888 Ford. Team Vodafone has consistently got better fuel economy than the rest of the field so should be able to run harder through to the end. HRT is confident it can get to the finish with only one more stop, but will need to drive more conservatively to make their tank of ethanol last.
 
The SBR duo of Davison and van Gisbergen was looking ideally placed to challenge for the win until they made their pitstop on lap 109. After a very efficient stop, that included a brake pad change, the Irwin/SP Tools-sponosred Falcon stalled and refused to restart for almost 30 valuable seconds.

Longtime leaders HRT are now behind Team Vodafone but remain on track to finish the race on one more stop, meaning they remain well and truely in contention for the win.

The drying track has helped Mark Skaife get back on the pace and climb back up the leader board to third place. The Sprint Gas Racing Holden is ahead of the Lee Holdsworth/Michael Caruso Commodore; recovering from their spin early in the race.

Fifth place is now held by the second Ford Performance Racing Falcon driven by Dean Canto and Luke Youlden, trying to salvage a result for the factory blue oval team.

Not long after the previous safety car headed back to the pits it was needed again former World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss hit the wall at The Dipper. At the same time the ominous clouds finally opened up and wet the track.

While the field all waited to see just how long the rain would last Team Vodafone was the first to head into the pits for wets tyres and insert Whincup into the driver's seat. When it became obvious the track was going to stay wet all the teams dived in for wet weather rubber.

But even on rain tyres the driver's struggled around the testing 6.2km circuit. James Courtney was spun around at the top of the Mountain and fell down the order. But the DJR Falcon then suffered an engine problem and is now out of the running for the win.

Owen Kelly fell off the road at the final corner, causing another safety car, and dropping the Supercheap Auto Holden down the field.

The Kelly brothers were black-flagged for having rear bodywork hanging off their Jack Daniel's Racing Commodore and have fallen to 12th.

Greg Murphy and Mark Skaife have tumbled down the running order to 12th as their Sprint Gas Racing Commodore hasn't suited the wet conditions.

And despite their early call for wet tyres #888 has dropped to 10th place. In an interesting battle Whincup, the reigning V8 Supercar champion, came under pressure and was passed by Andy Priaulx, a three-time World Touring Car Champion, during the shower. 

But while those teams hit trouble, it was a great hour for Brad Jones Racing with its Team BOC and Wow Racing entires. The team picked the conditions perfectly and moved into second and third. Cameron McConville and Jason Richards continued their good run while teammates Brad and Andrew Jones emerged from deep in the pack.

There was also a proud moment for Richard Davison as he watched his sons Will and Alex battle it out for the lead of Australia's biggest motor race earlier in the hour.

The safety car was sent out to allow officials to clear debris from the circuit. It's appearance caused a flurry of activity in the pits with HRT, DJR, Sprint Gas, Team BOC and Kelly Racing all pitting for fuel, tyres and driver changes.

But Team Vodafone is looking strong to make it four Bathurst 1000 wins in a row with excellent fuel economy given the team a a potentially vital advantage. Having stretched more laps from a tank that their rivals the team was able to stay out on the track during the safety car period, leaping from sixth place to the lead.

The Stone Brothers Racing Ford of Alex Davison and Shane van Gisbergen is now in second place, also taking advantage of good fuel consumption to move up the order.

Up until that point the the HRT Commodore of Tander and Will Davison had remained in control of the race. The pair had led from the opening lap without any trouble. Tander has stayed in the car for a double-stint and the crew has already completed the compulsorily brake pad change.

Despite their earlier tyre troule the Kelly brothers remain in contention with good speed and fuel economy.

James Courtney has kept the DJR Falcon near the pointy end of the field in sixth place, just ahead of Jason Richards in the Team BOC Commodore. Russell Ingall's co-driver Owen Kelly is staying in touch with the leaders too in eighth place.

Positions at 1:30pm (Lap 73)
1. Lowndes/Whincup -- Ford
2. Alex Davison/Van Gisbergen -- Ford
3. Garth Tander/Will Davison -- Holden
4. Murphy/Skaife -- Holden
5. Todd Kelly/Rick Kelly -- Holden

But Ford's factory assault on the rave has made a spectacular exit from the race. The FPR Falcon of Richards and Winterbottom was running fourth when the car caught fire and Winterbottom dived into the pits where the blaze was quickly extinguished.

"I just saw the smoke and had to pit," Winterbottom said.

Retirement clearly agrees with Skaife as the five-time Bathurst winner is looking refreshed and focused after a year in the TV commentary box. Having taken over the Sprint Gas Racing Commodore from Greg Murphy, Skaife put in some red-hot laps to move into second place and narrow the gap to Tander.

Strategy has began with the first round of scheduled pitstops for a full tank of fuel and four fresh tyres taking place. The switch to ethanol fuel means a change to traditional strategies with the cars only able to run between 23-25 laps, instead of 33-36 on regular unleaded.

Dick Johnson Racing's Falcon is still looking good with Steven Johnson in third place ahead of the Stone Brothers Racing Falcon with Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen behind the wheel.

Early weekend pace-setters Team BOC is looking quick too in fifth place. Jason Richard is behind the wheel and closing in on the battle between the two Fords ahead of him.

Championship leader Jamie Whincup is now behind the wheel of the #888 Team Vodafone Ford and continuing the fightback through the field from the earlier penalty. His steady progress through the field, coupled with the troubles of others means Whincup is back to sixth place and still in contention for the win.

The Jack Daniel's Racing entry of the Kelly brothers -- Todd and Rick -- is looking in trouble. The black Holden is punishing its rear tyres and unable to last a full fuel stint, which is bad news for their strategy.

Positions at 12:30pm (Lap 52)
1. Davison/Tander -- Holden
2. Murphy/Skaife -- Holden
3. Courtney/Johnson -- Ford
4. Shane van Gisbergen/Alex Davison -- Ford
5. Jason Richards/Cameron McComville -- Holden

HOUR ONE
Holden Racing Team ace Will Davison is looking comfortable at the head of the field as the first phase of the Bathurst 1000 finishes. Davison in the factory-backed Holden is leading the factory-backed Ford of Steven Richards with 23 laps completed.

The race got underway under a sunny sky but on a wet track after a rain shower lashed the circuit just before the green flag waved.

Davison lost the lead off the starting line to Richards but wasted no time getting it back on the run up the Mountain. But it only took until the first corner before there was drama further back in the pack with Jason Bright getting spun into the gravel trap in his Fujitsu-sponsored Falcon.

Todd Kelly was the first driver to dive into the pits to grab slick tyres on the fifth lap. It didn't take long for the leading trio of Davison/Richards/Lowndes to follow suit and pit for dry track rubber on lap seven.

Lowndes tried to use the pitstop to leap forward a position, but his Team Vodafone crew released him too close to Richards' Falcon and the race officials took action. Lowndes was handed a drive-though pitlane penalty and dropped down the order to 19th.

The big winners of the tyre swapping, though, were James Courtney (Dick Johnson Racing) and Kelly who leaped up to third and fourth respectivly once Lowndes copped his penalty.

The FPR crew looks set for a difficult day with an alternator problem meaning the Richards/Winterbottom entry will require a new battery at its next pitstop; and possibly every pitstop if the alternator can't be fixed.

Another leading contender to strike trouble was the Team Valvoline Holden driven by young guns Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso. The latter tackled the first stint but spun on lap 19 at the top of the mountain. Somehow he managed to avoid hitting the wall but had to pit to hand over to Holdsworth.

Positions at 11:30am (Lap 23)
1. Will Davison/Garth Tander -- Holden
2. Steven Richards/Mark Winterbottom -- Ford
3. James Courtney/Steven Johnson -- Ford
4. Greg Murphy/Mark Skaife -- Holden
5. Russell Ingall/Owen Kelly -- Holden

QUALIFYING
Holden duo Garth Tander and Will Davison will start the race from pole position after snatching the top spot in Saturday's Top 10 Shootout. Tander pipped defending race champion Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup for the honours in a difficult session on a drying racetrack.

Ford Performance Racing combination Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards will line up on the second row next to the Holden of Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso.

Provisional polesitter Jason Richards could only manage the fifth fastest time in the Holden he'll share with Cameron McConville.

There was some controversy when four-time race winner Greg Murphy had his time disallowed for arriving too late at the exit of pitlane to start his lap. That means the Kiwi and his co-driver, five-time winner Mark Skaife, will start from 10th position on the grid.

Starting grid
1. Garth Tander/Will Davison -- Holden Racing Team
2. Craig Lowndes/Jamie Whincup -- Team Vodafone
3. Mark Winterbottom/Steven Richards -- Ford Performance Racing
4. Lee Holdsworth/Michael Caruso -- Team Valvoline
5. Jason Richards/Cameron McConville -- Team BOC
6. Shane Van Gisbergen/Alex Davison -- Stone Brothers Racing
7. Todd Kelly/Rick Kelly -- Jack Daniel's Racing
8. Paul Dumbrell/Craig Baird -- Holden Racing Team
9. Russell Ingall/Owen Kelly -- Supercheap Auto Racing
10.Greg Murphy/Mark Skaife -- Sprint Gas Racing

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