by FJ Sun Oct 12, 2008 7:38 pm
Ford pair Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup claimed an historic Bathurst 1000 hat-trick but second-placed Greg Murphy was "pissed" that Lowndes got away with bumping him on lap one.
Lowndes, 34, and Whincup, 25, became the first men in 24 years to win three straight titles at Mount Panorama with a near-flawless drive.
The Triple Eight Racing duo equalled the all-time record for successive triumphs, joining motorsport legends Peter Brock, Jim Richards and Larry Perkins on three.
For Lowndes, it was a chance to join his mentor, the late Brock, in the history books.
"You couldn't dream of it. To create a piece of modern history is awesome," said Lowndes, who once again showed nerves of steel to hold off the challengers towards the end.
"How good was Lowndesy in that last stint? He just nails it every time. He's unbelievable," added Whincup, who has moved into the V8 Supercar championship lead with four rounds to go.
"I'm not a greedy person but I'll take it every time."
New Zealand pairing Murphy and Jason Richards pulled off an incredible second spot with Murphy passing the Ford of Steven Richards with just a handful of laps remaining.
But Murphy wasn't happy with the opening-lap contact, where Lowndes appeared to veer into his side and the four-time Bathurst champion battled steering problems as a result.
"He's got away with knocking us up and nothing has been done about it as usual," said Murphy.
"I was a bit pissed to be honest. It hampered our race big time."
Aside from that and a heap of safety-car interventions late on, it was plain sailing for the champions, taking the lead from James Courtney and David Besnard of Ford after the first pit stop on lap 34 and never looking back.
Lowndes also moved to equal fifth on the all-time list with four Bathurst wins, behind Brock (9), Richards (7), Perkins (6) and modern rival Mark Skaife (5) - his first victory coming in 1996, 10 years before his second.
Steven Richards and Mark Winterbottom eventually slipped another spot to fourth, with Courtney and Besnard sneaking through for a place on the podium.
Five-time winner Skaife and his V8 Supercar champion teammate Garth Tander had a horror day for the Holden Racing Team.
Tander got off to a disastrous start when the clutch slipped, leaving him stranded on the starting line as he dropped from pole position to last by the first corner.
To make matters worse, Tander was given a 10-second penalty for jumping the start as the car propped forward in the chaos.
"I got a penalty for apparently getting too good a start - I was last into the first corner!" Tander said.
The day would not get any better for Holden's flagship outfit as on lap 102 of 161 Skaife hit the wall trying to fend off Lowndes, who was attempting to lap him.
Skaife hit the wall again a few laps later as he battled steering problems and the pair finished 12th in the end.
Brock achieved the Bathurst hat-trick twice, first with Jim Richards from 1978-80 and then again from 1982-84 with Perkins.
It hadn't been achieved since.
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