Craig Lowndes dedicates Bathurst 1000 win to Brocky

Peter Brock's protege Craig Lowndes paid the ultimate tribute to his fallen idol when he claimed an emotional, emphatic win in the biggest event of the V8 Supercar season, the Bathurst 1000.

It was a classic win in a battle which ran right down to the flag, as Rick Kelly came up just a little short in a winner-take-all six-lap shootout.

Lowndes and talented young co-driver Jamie Whincup hit the front early, then resisted the challenge from Rick and Todd Kelly after the dramatic early exits of front-row starters Mark Skaife and Jason Bright.

As always, Bathurst was filled with incidents and they included some huge crashes and the almost unbelievable first-lap retirement of Skaife, who had clutch problems on the line and was cleaned up by Jack Perkins on the first climb up Mountain Straight.

"What can you say? To be the first to have my name on the Peter Brock Trophy is obviously very special," Lowndes said.

"To do this today is pretty emotional. We never had a problem all day.

"The best way to show respect (to Brock) is to do this."

Lowndes gave co-driver Whincup a huge boost and also said he provided motivation to overcome the pressure of performing on a day which began with a 30-minute tribute to Brock.

"I couldn't have done it without this little whiz kid alongside me. He's a gem," Lowndes said.

"We're the same height, the same weight and we share the same good looks."

He admitted Rick Kelly had pressured him all the way to the flag. "I knew he was right behind me so I couldn't give an inch," Lowndes said.

But both Kelly brothers, who were delayed with an early tyre problem, said they were beaten by a better combination.

"I couldn't give it any more. The old girl was scraping the wall in a couple of places, but I couldn't quite do it," Rick said.

He added: "We cannot be too satisfied. It's extremely painful to leave this place knowing we came so close."

Third place went to James Courtney and Glenn Seton, a combination of youth and experience that worked well through the day.

And Courtney had the speed at the end — despite running back-to-back driving stints to the finish — to hold out Stone Brothers' teammate Russell Ingall.

Courtney had cramps in his hand and said it was "like a claw" in the run to the flag.

"It's probably the hardest race I've ever done. We didn't quite have the pace . . . but it went quite well and we finished third," Courtney said.

"I just managed to beat my teammate, which makes it even better."

The action was torrid, from the first-lap crash which took Skaife out of the contest, to Jason Richards' trip into the concrete in the final laps.

The safety car was sent out 10 times and 37 of the 161 laps were run under caution.

Jason Bright looked a contender in the early laps with his FPR Falcon, but had a tyre drama before he was sidelined by engine failure.

The second FPR car also went out, after repairs to its engine, when suspension trouble put David Brabham into the sand trap at McPhillamy Park.

The hits on the sharp end of the field continued when veteran Jim Richards crashed the second HRT Commodore and then Steven Johnson slapped the wall with his Falcon at Reid Park.

"I guess I buggered it up. The back end was really, really knife-edge and it got away from me," Johnson said.

Cameron McConville also crashed in his SuperCheap Commodore, but the worst hit came when Paul Radisich touched Nathan Pretty's Commodore at The Chase and went head-on into the crash barrier.

Safety crews cut the roof from the Team Kiwi Commodore to get him free and he was helicoptered to hospital for checks after complaining of chest pains.

The middle laps of the race were filled with interruptions and silly mistakes by tailenders, including Dale Brede.

He had brake failure at the top of Mountain Straight in the second of Brad Jones' BOC Falcons.

"The boys forgot to tell me to pump the brakes after a pad stop. I had no option," Brede said.

The last major drama was an engine failure in Dean Canto's Valvoline Commodore, although he was able to limp around to take the flag.

The finishing order at Bathurst reflects the battle for this year's V8 Supercar championship, as Lowndes now has a 101-point lead over Rick Kelly after drivers drop their worst-scoring round in the series.

BATHURST BULLETS

LEADING DRIVERS (161 laps)

1. Lowndes/Whincup (F) 6hrs:59mins:53.5852secs

2. R.Kelly/T.Kelly (H) 6:59:54.1720

3. Courtney/Seton (F) 7:00:03.1256

4. Ingall/Youlden (F) 7:00:03.1312

5. S.Richards/Dumbrell (H) 7:00:04.3759

6. Morris/Ellery (H) 7:00:07.9750

7. Owen/Longhurst (H) 7:00:11.3233

8. Weel /Pretty (H) 7:00:13.1540

9. A.Davison/Denyer (F) 7:00:13.6298

10. Bargwanna/Baird (F) 7:00:16.0367