Motorsport: Skaife says Lowndes must be careful to preserve his lead

Nick Percat (left) and Garth Tander claimed the Bathurst 1000 on Sunday. Tander's winning margin of less then three-tenths of a second was the closest in race history. Photo / Supplied

Mark Skaife has warned Bathurst 1000 teammate Craig Lowndes he must avoid late season carnage to take a grip on winning his first V8 Supercar championship in 12 years.

Lowndes emerged from his brave second place at Bathurst on Sunday 100 points clear of nearest rival Jamie Whincup in the standings, with four events remaining.

Skaife, himself a five-time series champion, is in awe of how well Lowndes is driving.

He believes it's the best he's seen the 37-year-old steer since he burst on to the scene in the mid-1990s as Skaife's Holden teammate.

Yet for all his brilliance, Lowndes has not won the title since 1999.

Now he looks perfectly poised to claim a long-awaited championship, having not led the points standings late in the season for years.

But Skaife says Lowndes' career-best form is no guarantee, warning that the concrete canyons of street tracks at Gold Coast in a fortnight and Sydney in December will prove hard landings should he find trouble.

"This is the best I've ever seen him drive," Skaife said.

"Phillip Island and here, as evidenced in the race, it was a fantastic drive.

"But there are some high-risk tracks to come.

"Gold Coast and Sydney - the level of carnage we've seen over the last couple of years is the highest of any of the racetracks.

"After Gold Coast, he'll have a much better feel of what the championship's like."

Lowndes drove the wheels off his Team Vodafone car late in the Bathurst 1000, pressing eventual winner Garth Tander late to eventually lose by the closest competitive margin in race history - less than three-tenths of a second.

He lifted the car from seventh to second in the final 23 laps, and only Tander's flawless last two laps held him at bay.

Tander and co-driver Nick Percat celebrated their victory with new team boss Ryan Walkinshaw in attendance to see the brilliant win.

Walkinshaw, the son of late former owner Tom Walkinshaw, has overseen a recent shake-up at HRT. And there will be more to come, with former McLaren Formula One and Nascar technical guru Steve Hallam arriving in Melbourne next year to head the day-to-day running of HRT.

"It's not complete," Tander said of HRT's rebuilding, aimed at putting him and teammate James Courtney back on the championship pace.

"There is still a lot of stuff we need to improve within the team and we know what those areas are."

More than 55,000 attended Sunday's race, with more than 179,000 spectators over the four days of the event.

- AAP