13 Oct 2008

Lowndes and Whincup win Bathurst

5:58 am on 13 October 2008

The Ford pair Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup claimed an historic Bathurst 1000 hat-trick but second-placed New Zealander Greg Murphy was annoyed that Lowndes got away with bumping him on the opening lap.

Lowndes and Whincup became the first men in 24 years to win three straight titles at Mount Panorama with a near-flawless drive.

The pair equalled the all-time record for successive triumphs, joining motorsport legends Peter Brock, Jim Richards and Larry Perkins on three.

The 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.

Murphy says it hampered their race big time.

Meanwhile 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.