THE Ford drivers Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup made history at Mount Panorama yesterday, winning the Bathurst 1000 for the third year in a row.
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The only other drivers to complete the same feat were the late Peter Brock, who did it twice, from 1978 to 1980 (with Jim Richards) and from 1982 to 1984 (with Larry Perkins). This is the first hat trick in the modern V8 Supercar era.
The victory was especially emotional for Lowndes, who was a protege of Brock. The pair went to the same Melbourne school and played for the same football team.
Lowndes eventually got to team up with his childhood hero when he raced for Holden in the 1990s, and the pair stayed in close contact even when Lowndes switched to Ford in 2001.
"It's a great honour to be holding [the Peter Brock memorial] trophy for the third year in a row," Lowndes said. "It was special to win the year Brock died, but to win three in a row like Brock did is just something I never thought would happen in the modern era. I hope he's looking down on us, and I hope I've made him proud."
The race lacked drama, the winning pair having a faultless run, unusual in the 1000-
kilometre endurance event. Fuel economy became a key factor as Lowndes and Whincup were able to eke out two or three laps more than their rivals between pit stops.
V8 Supercars consume more than 50 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, five times the amount in the average family car, but the winning Falcon used slightly less fuel than the other cars without sacrificing power or speed. Lowndes and Whincup made the win look easy, but their campaign almost came unstuck in the first-lap scramble, when Lowndes damaged a tyre after bumping into the Holden Commodore of Greg Murphy and Jason Richards, who finished second, ahead of James Courtney and David Besnard in a Ford.
The tyre was one bump away from peeling off the rim, but Lowndes drove 34 laps unaware of the damage. "I felt a slight vibration but I just kept going."
The hopes of the other favourites - the fastest qualifier and reigning V8 Supercar champion Garth Tander and his Holden teammate Mark Skaife - were dashed on the start line after a faulty clutch put their Commodore to the back of the field.
At least it was not as far back as it could have been; this year only 24 cars started the race - the smallest Bathurst grid in V8 Supercar history - after three cars were destroyed in crashes during practices before the race.
