A 29-car field, a string of tyre delaminations and a late restart gave Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup their third straight Bathurst win.
Held in October 2008 at Mount Panorama Circuit, the race was round 10 of the V8 Supercar Championship. Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup won it in a Ford BF Falcon, completing a third straight victory for Triple Eight, the first three-peat since 1984.
Staged from 9 to 12 October 2008 at Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst, the 2008 race was the Australian 1000's twelfth edition. Lowndes and Whincup crossed the line first in a Ford BF Falcon run by Triple Eight, a third straight win and the first three-peat since 1984. The race was a tough one, with tyre failures striking much of the field.
Where was the 2008 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 held?
The race was run at Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst, New South Wales, from 9 to 12 October 2008. It was round 10 of the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series and the 51st race in a lineage that traces back to the 1960 Armstrong 500 at Phillip Island.
This was the twelfth edition of the Australian 1000 event. That series was first held after the 1997 organisational split over the Bathurst 1000, which had produced two rival races.
A third straight Bathurst win for Lowndes and Whincup, built on a race of tyre trouble and safety cars.
How big was the entry list?
Twenty-nine cars were entered, made up of 16 Holden Commodores and 13 Ford Falcons. The twenty-nine-car field was the smallest since the 1963 move to Bathurst, and seven drivers were making debuts that year. Holden's cars made up the larger share of the grid.
Among the first-timers were Chris Pither, Dale Wood and Boris Said, and Fabrizio Giovanardi and Marc Hynes joined them, as did Michael Patrizi and Karl Reindler. Kayne Scott, Adam Macrow and Steven Ellery ran their final races in 2008.
Grant Denyer was injured in a monster truck event and sat out the rest of the season, so Karl Reindler took over his seat at Ford Rising Stars Racing.
Who took pole position?
Garth Tander took pole in the Top 10 Shootout on Saturday 11 October, with a lap of 2:07.2963. Mark Winterbottom had provisionally held pole in qualifying at 2:07.1920, and he finished second in the shootout, twelve hundredths of a second behind Tander.
In the shootout James Courtney was half a second slower than Tander, while Jamie Whincup's car looked unsettled. A slide at Reid Park cost Jason Richards two tenths of a second.
Free practice had given early pace to several drivers. Jamie Whincup set the fastest time of the third session at 2:07.5975, two hundredths quicker than Greg Murphy, but the Friday morning sessions were marred by accidents.
Garth Tander topped the second session at 2:09.3700, while Warren Luff had set the early benchmark in the opening session at 2:10.7158. On Saturday morning Jason Richards set the fastest lap of the weekend, 2:06.9076.
During a Friday morning practice crash, Pither hit Paul Weel's stationary car. Weel needed cutting from the wreckage, though neither driver was badly injured, and the Team Kiwi Racing Falcon was repaired to start on Sunday.
Paul Radisich broke his right ankle on Saturday after a stuck throttle pushed his HSV Dealer Team Commodore into the wall. David Reynolds then stepped out of the second HSV car so that Rick Kelly could start the race.
Fabrizio Giovanardi damaged a Triple Eight Falcon in qualifying, which brought out red flags. Lee Holdsworth finished fourteenth after a power steering leak pitched him into the wall at the Dipper, and the Wilson and Jones entry moved into the Top 10 Shootout after the Kelly car withdrew.
In the shootout, Max Wilson and Fabian Coulthard were pushed down the order, held back by used tyres.
How did the race unfold?
Starting from pole, Tander stalled, and a ten-second penalty for a jump start was served at his first stop. Craig Lowndes and Greg Murphy touched at Griffins Bend on the opening lap, and Murphy had to pit with slight damage. James Courtney then dominated the opening stint.
Tyre delaminations began to strike the field from lap 15, when Jack Perkins was the first car to fail a left-rear tyre. Kayne Scott was the first to retire, on lap eight, while Andrew Jones hit the Griffins Bend wall after a spin on lap 40.
A safety car on lap 73 came after Todd Kelly spun at the Chase, and a third came when Michael Patrizi spun at Murray's Corner. Jonathon Webb then hit the sand trap at McPhillamy Park after the restart and was out of the race.
Will Davison led until he pitted on lap 98, and Max Wilson led until the safety car on lap 106. Another safety car on lap 128 saw most of the field pit, and David Besnard led until his final stop for Courtney on lap 137.
After a safety car, Whincup was buried and re-emerged in 17th position.
Mark Skaife hit the wall at Forrests Elbow, which removed the lead Holden from contention.
Craig Baird was put into the wall after contact with Warren Luff at Griffin's Bend, and Luff received a drive-through penalty. Russell Ingall then dropped out with power steering failure.
Steven Richards led early after Garth Tander stalled at the start. Tyre delaminations and safety cars then shaped the rest of the race.
Will Davison, Todd Kelly and Lee Holdsworth were among the front runners worst hit by tyre delaminations. Ellery and Todd Kelly crossed the line 16th and 17th, and Rick Kelly and Paul Dumbrell were placed 20th after rebuilding their throttle linkages and losing 34 laps.
Who won the race and by how much?
Behind the leaders, Luke Youlden finished seventh, Jack Perkins eighth and Jason Bright ninth. Steven Richards held fourth for much of the closing stage, despite fading on rear tyres late on. Those placings completed the top ten behind Lowndes, Murphy and Courtney.
Craig Lowndes won by two seconds from Greg Murphy, with James Courtney third. Lowndes's margin at the flag was just two seconds, a result that was held over the closing laps. Lowndes and Whincup took their third consecutive victory, which had not been achieved since Peter Brock and Larry Perkins won three straight in 1984.
On the lap 147 restart, Lowndes was ahead of Steven Richards and Murphy. Courtney, on fresh tyres, cut through the pack and passed Max Wilson for fourth on lap 153, before he took third from a fading Richards two laps later.
Murphy moved into second at Hell Corner on lap 158 and chased Lowndes, but the gap stabilised over the final laps. D'Alberto hit the Griffins Bend wall on the penultimate lap, the race's last retirement.
| Finish | Driver | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First | Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup | Third consecutive Bathurst win |
| Second | Greg Murphy | Two seconds behind the winners |
| Third | James Courtney | Fastest race lap of 2:09.2775 |
| Fourth | Steven Richards | Lost third to Courtney while fading on rear tyres |
| Fifth | Max Wilson | Passed by Courtney on lap 153 |
| Sixth | Will Davison | Climbed back after a late delamination |
| Tenth | Fabian Coulthard | Pit stop for fuel with two laps to go |
| Twelfth | Garth Tander | Pole sitter with a ten-second penalty |
What did the result mean for the championship?
Whincup regained the championship lead he had surrendered after his April crash at the Hamilton 400. The result came in round 10 of a 14-round championship. It was Triple Eight's third straight win with that pairing, and Lowndes shared in a result that gave the pairing three wins at Bathurst in a row.
Tander's twelfth-place finish limited the damage to his points tally, but it dropped him to third in the standings behind Mark Winterbottom.
Delaminations struck the entire field throughout the day, which shaped the strategy of nearly every car.
