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Holden's Garth Tander - Source: Photosport -
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Holden drivers Garth Tander and Will Davison have won the Bathurst 1000, overcoming a variety of weather conditions to win Australia's best-known V8 Supercar race.
Tander and Davison led for the majority of the 161-lap, 1,000km race around Mount Panorama.
But they also had a late slice of luck when a safety car period with 20 laps remaining elevated them from third to first as the two leading cars were forced to pit and lose track position.
Tander and Davison led home a Holden 1-2-3.
Jason Richards and Cameron McConville finished second, with Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso third.
It is Holden's first win at Bathurst since 2005 and breaks Ford duo Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup's run of three successive victories.
Lowndes and Whincup finished fifth.
The race changed complexion entirely with 20 laps to go.
Part-time Holden drivers Greg Ritter and David Besnard, and Holden veterans Mark Skaife and Greg Murphy sat first and second and looked on track to fight out the finish.
But Ford driver Dean Canto crashed on lap 141, bringing out the safety car and giving a huge advantage to cars which had already made their final pit stops for fuel.
That put Tander in the lead - an advantage he managed to hold despite another safety car period with three laps remaining.
Tander had opened up a five second advantage which was erased after Tony Ricciardello beached his car, setting up a three-lap sprint to the finish.
That led to plenty of action behind Tander, with Richards fighting his way up to second and Holdsworth having to hold off a late-charging Murphy to keep a podium finish.
Murphy and Skaife eventually finished fourth, with Ritter and Besnard sliding to ninth.
Tander and Davison started from pole in a race which started in the wet, had intermittent showers throughout, and finished in bright sunshine.
That meant pit stop strategies, driver changes and changes of tyres were critical.
Tander and Davison's strategy turned out a winner - pitting just three laps before the safety car period which changed the race proving an inspired move.
"It's absolutely awesome. Words can't describe it. What a result for the team - absolutely fantastic," Tander said.
"What a race for Holden and what a way to come back.
"We had a really fast car and did a really good job in the pit
stops."
Davison's win also helps his V8 Supercar championship
aspirations.
It cuts the margin between second-placed Davison and series leader
Whincup to 93 points.
Ford Performance Racing drivers Mark Winterbottom and Steven
Richards were the highest profile casualties, out in lap 50 when
their car spectacularly caught fire while on track.
Winterbottom was in the blazing car, which only made it part-way
along pit lane before stopping.
Rival team fire crews helped put out the blaze and escorted
Winterbottom from the car uninjured.
FPR said a battery which came loose and ruptured a fuel line was
to blame for the car's demise.
Nearly 180,000 attended the weekend's racing.
