Asian Motor Sports

Toll HSV Dealer Team’s Garth Tander finally took his first V8 Supercar win at home, leading home a 1-2-3 for Holden in race one of the Bigpond 400 at Barbagallo Raceway.

Tander led home teammate Rick Kelly for a Toll HSV 1-2, with Holden Racing Team’s Mark Skaife completing an all-Holden podium.

It could have been a 1-2-3-4 for the two Holden teams who were recently caught up in an ownership dispute with series officials, but brake problems for Todd Kelly saw him spin into the sand and out of the race while running fourth on lap 38 of 50, bringing out a late-race safety car.

This was good news for the rest of the field, led by Craig Lowndes, who was fifteen seconds behind leader Tander before the safety car made an appearance. He just held off the two Jim Beam Fords of Steven Johnson and Will Davison to the flag.

Before the safety car, the race had been relatively processional, a fairly clean start with the top eleven completing lap one in grid position order.

Lowndes was the biggest loser in the early laps, losing third to Skaife on lap three and fourth to Skaife’s teammate Todd Kelly on lap seven.

The compulsory pit stop saw James Courtney suffer the most, sixth before the stops, thirteenth after they had been completed.

Pos Driver Car Laps
1. Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 50
2. Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VE 50
3. Mark Skaife Holden Commodore VE 50
4. Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon BF 50
5. Steven Johnson Ford Falcon BF 50
6. Will Davison Ford Falcon BF 50
7. Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon BF 50
8. Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VE 50
9. Steven Richards Ford Falcon BF 50
10. Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VZ 50
11. Max Wilson Ford Falcon BF 50
12. Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon BF 50
13. James Courtney Ford Falcon BF 50
14. Steve Owen Holden Commodore VZ 50
15. Shane Price Holden Commodore VE 50
16. Jason Richards Holden Commodore VE 50
17. Paul Morris Holden Commodore VE 50
18. Russell Ingall Ford Falcon BF 50
19. Paul Radisich Ford Falcon BF 50
20. Fabian Coulthard Holden Commodore VZ 50
21. Paul Dumbrell Holden Commodore VE 50
22. Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VZ 50
23. Brad Jones Ford Falcon BF 50
24. Jack Perkins Holden Commodore VE 50
25. Jason Bargwanna Ford Falcon BF 49
26. Andrew Jones Ford Falcon BF 49
27. Dean Canto Holden Commodore VE 49
28. Alan Gurr Ford Falcon BF 45
DNF John Bowe Ford Falcon BF 45
DNF Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE 37