Defending champion Garth Tander and Will Davison claimed a dramatic victory in the Phillip Island 500 in Australia yesterday when leader Craig Lowndes suffered tyre problems on the final lap.
Lowndes, in a Ford, pulled off a masterly pass on Tander with 15 of the 113 laps remaining to seizethe lead and was cruising to the finish line until turn six of the final lap of the V8 Supercars event.
As his front tyre began flapping badly Lowndes had no choice but to let Tander through and the Holden star went on to win by 2.6 seconds.
Mark Winterbottom and Steve Richards, who started from pole, were third in their Ford Performance Racing Falcon.
Earlier experienced Supercar racer Cameron McConville survived a terrifying 250km/h out-of-control ride yesterday before slamming "once a year drivers".
McConville's Team BOC Holden and the Commodore of part-time driver Steve Owen clashed at high-speed on lap 21 near the island circuit's high-speed turn one. The collision rocked McConville's car off all four wheels before he speared across the track backwards, through grass and a gravel pit, and was narrowly missed by the Holden of David Besnard.
McConville was unhurt but furious at what he called the "stupid" action of Owen, claiming he was engaging in "amateurish" tactics.
