After starting from pole, the Toll Holden Racing Team s Will Davison and Garth Tander took a thrilling victory at Bathurst Toll HRT s sixth, Holden s 26th Great Race win.
The Great Race Rain, hail and sunshine, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 had it all, with the ever changing cconditions throwing it all at the teams and drivers. The Toll Holden Racing Team could not have celebrated the 40th anniversary of Holden s official Bathurst debut better, Garth Tander and Will Davison taking a thrilling victory in this year s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. This was the 26th win by a Holden on the Mountain, its first since 2005, and the sixth for the Toll HRT. It was Tander s second Bathurst victory and Davison s first his coming on debut with the factory Holden team at Bathurst. Tander and Davison also became just the fifth pairing to complete the enduro double, winning both the lead-up race, the L&H 500 at Phillip Island, and Bathurst. The win came in a year defined by Holden Bathurst milestones, including the 40th anniversary of the King of the Mountain, Peter Brock s Bathurst debut, the moment not lost on Tander. It s a great honour for Will and I to be the first Holden drivers to win the Peter Brock Trophy. Peter did a lot of driving in Holdens here at Mt It is a great honour for Will and I to be the first Holden drivers to win the Peter Brock Trophy. We re thrilled to be able to bring it home for Holden Toll HRT s Garth Tander
Panorama, his legend was created at Bathurst and we re thrilled we can bring the trophy home to Holden, he said. Tander and Davison went into the event equal favourites with the bookies, although the weekend did not start the way anyone envisaged the #2 Commodore 20th after Thursday practice, Tander having spent much of one practice session in the sand at the Chase after a tyre blew while braking, while the #22 Toll HRT Commodore of Paul Dumbrell and Craig Baird was close-by in 18th. Unfazed, the team continued working through its practice program, Tander saying they were comfortable with where they were at at that point and warning others not to write them off. By Friday s qualifying, both Toll HRT Commodores were showing their true speed and when the sessions were completed the Toll HRT was the only team to have both its cars in Saturday s Top 10 Shootout. Dumbrell s lap was run on a damp track, and a small error saw him off at the Chase, but PD kept his boot in it over the grass to record the eighth fastest time. Tander once again showed his blistering speed to record the fastest time and place his #2 Commodore on pole for the second straight year in his third visit to Bathurst with HRT (he paired with Mark Skaife for the 2006 race) he would start from he #1 grid spot. Davison and Tander were rarely headed during the course of the eventful 1000km race. After losing the lead off the line, Davison immediately reclaimed first on the run up mountain straight, and from there settled into a controlling rhythm. Safety Cars, fuel efficiency and weather threw the race for the podium positions into doubt, but the lead Toll HRT Commodore was never really out of contention. Davison did seven laps on wet tyres on the dry track to get the car to its fuel window, which cost time, but good strategy decisions and the luck of the draw with Safety Cars kept the #2 Commodore in the hunt. We were pretty much controlling the race then I got stuck out there on wets, and we lost a lot of time. I was fairpeaking when we got out the car, but it was just win or bust said Davison. Tander gave credit to the entire Toll HRT post-race; To Ty Anderson and Matt Nilsson deep in conversation during the race (right). The Channel 7 helicopter follows the #2 HRT Commodore over the top of Skyline (below). We came here with a one-eyed attitude [to win] this weekend. Sometimes things work out perfectly... and this will stay with me forever Toll HRT s Will Davison Bathurst
give us a car capable of going quick in the wet and the dry, was just a fantastic job. Safety Cars brought them back to the field on more than one occasion, but Tander was unconcerned by the interruptions, We just pulled a gap every time he said. On one such interruption Tander made slight contact with Rick Kelly, who claimed the move was unnecessary. Stiff mate, it s Bathurst, was Tander s response. I didn t think there was anything in it, it was a very small tap, you ve got to do what you ve got to do to get track position. Davison admitted the team had only one goal for the weekend. We came here this weekend with a pretty one-eyed attitude, maybe a little too one eyed he said. Sometimes things turn out perfectly, while this is something that will be with you forever. The last Safety Car period came on lap 158, setting up a three lap dash to the finish. Tander was able to pull away from the gaggle of cars behind him vying for position. In the end he crossed the line 0.8 seconds ahead of the Team BOC Holden Commodore driven by Jason Richards, with he and team-mate Cameron McConville also joined by Garry Rogers Motorsport s Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso on the podium in an all Holden affair. Such was the domination of Holden this year that a record nine Commodores finished in the top 10, the greatest result by any manufacturer in the history of the race. After early top five pace, Dumbrell and Baird battled on to a 21st place finish after the car clipped the wall at Skyline Bathurst and damaged the steering midway through the race. The pair showed tenacity, soldiering on three laps down to score valuable points for HRT in trying conditions. Sunday s win was the fifth in six races for the Toll HRT, with Davison closing the gap to championship leader Jamie Whincup by 78 points, to just 93 points with four rounds remaining Whincup and team-mate Craig Lowndes fifth in their effort to win a record fourth straight Bathurst. HRT has jumped to the lead of the Team s Championship by 56 points over Triple Eight. There is no rest for the team, which now prepares for the SuperGP on the Gold Coast on 22-25 October, Tander, who is making his 150th Championship start, having won the beachside spectacular in 2007. The posters say it all Holden Wins Bathurst. The entire Walkinshaw Racing crew responsible for the great win got together before heading home for the night for a celebratory photo (above). V8 SUPERCARS, SUPERCHEAP AUTO BATHURST 1000 DRIVER, TEAM, CAR 1. W.Davison/G.Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore VE 2. J.Richards/C.McConville, Team BOC Holden Commodore VE 3. M.Caruso/L.Holdsworth, Valvoline/Cummins Holden Commodore VE 4. G.Murphy/M.Skaife, Sprint Gas Racing Holden Commodore VE 5. C.Lowndes/J.Whincup, Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon FG 6. J.Bargwanna/M.Noske, Sprint Gas Racing Holden Commodore VE 7. P.Morris/T.Slade, Supercheap Auto Racing Holden Commodore VE 8. R.Kelly/T.Kelly, Jack Daniel s Racing Holden Commodore VE 9. D.Besnard/G.Ritter, Valvoline/Cummins Holden Commodore VE 10. T.D Alberto/A.Thompson, Tony D Alberto Racing Holden Commodore VE CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after 10 of 14 events): 1. Whincup 2476; 2. W. Davison 2383; 3. Tander 2038; 4. Lowndes 1947; 5. Johnson 1656; 6. W bottom 1574; 7. Holdsworth 1568; 8. R.Kelly 1516; 9. Ingall 1484.
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