Motorsport: Lowndes, Skaife aim for double in Bathurst Blast

High speed is a feature of the circuit. Photo / Supplied

Having won endurance races last year at Phillip Island and Bathurst, the TeamVodafone duo of Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife is trying to become the first since Peter Brock to make a clean sweep of the endurance races two years in a row.

Brock won the Sandown and Bathurst double in 1978, 1979 and 1980. Skaife is making his 25th Bathurst 1000 start this year, moving him to 11th on the all-time list of Bathurst 500/1000 race starters.

Not only is Lowndes the fastest man around Mt Panorama in a V8 Supercar, he's also won four of the past five Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000s. Only Brock has done that before.

Russell Ingall will chalk up his 200th Australian Touring Car Championship/V8 Supercars championship start.

Ingall will become the sixth man in ATCC/V8SC history to reach the double century behind John Bowe, Skaife, Brock, Glenn Seton and Dick Johnson.

A winner at Bathurst in 1995 and 1997 with Larry Perkins, Ingall will line up for his 20th Great Race start with Perkins' son Jack as his co-driver.

The Circuit

Pit Straight
For a standing start the line is 143m closer to Hell Corner than the finish line so that all the pit bays are located after the finish line for lap counting purposes and so that the formed grid doesn't go too far around Murray's Corner.

Hell Corner
Right angle left turn that has caused many drivers to come unstuck on the first lap.

Mountain Straight
Where the climb up the mountain begins. Before modern aerodynamics cars would sometimes become airborne here.

Griffins Bend
So named after the Mayor of Bathurst, whose idea it was to build the road. A right-hander with negative camber that can catch drivers out.

The Cutting
Two lefts with a very steep exit that make it almost impossible to pass. The infamous Marcos Ambrose and Greg Murphy stoush in 2005 happened here when neither would give the other the racing line.

Reid Park
A rising right-hand turn leading into a left and the scene of Dick Johnson's big crash in 1980 as a result of a rock on the track.

Sulman Park
A steep drop before climbing back towards the highest point of the circuit.

McPhillamy Park
A fast downhill blind left that drivers can't see on the approach. They have to hug the wall and make sure of a tight exit.

Brock Skyline
A short straight before heading into this sharply descending right that's the beginning of the descent from the top of the Mountain.

The Esses
A series of switchback corners where most accidents occur.

The Dipper
The fourth bend in the Esses sequence where cars lift the inside front wheel.

Forrest's Elbow
Named after a motorcycle racer who smacked his elbow after coming off. A slow to medium left that opens out on to Con-rod Straight.

Con-rod Straight
The fastest part of the circuit where a car broke a con-rod in the early days. Five of the six deaths at Bathurst have occurred down this undulating straight, where cars reach 300km/h.

The Chase
A three-turn sequence starting with a right, introduced in the 1980s to try to keep speeds down.

Murray's Corner
The final corner before Pit Straight is a 90-degree left and a favourite place for overtaking.

Points of Interest
Trophy: All drivers are racing for the Peter Brock Trophy at Bathurst again this year. It was established in 2006 shortly after the nine-time Bathurst winner's death.

2010 Crowd: 182,098 (4 days)

Circuit Length: 6.213km

Circuit Direction: Anti-clockwise

Circuit Description: Mt Panorama track was built in 1938 as a scenic drive and is used for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, the annual 12-Hour GT race, 24-Hour endurance races and the Easter motorcycle meetings. The circuit is public road on non-race weekends.

SCOREBOARD
Drivers' championship (after race 19 of 28)

1. Jamie Whincup 2145
2. Craig Lowndes 2053
3. Shane van Gisbergen 1716
4. Rick Kelly 1585
5. Garth Tander 1548
6. Will Davison 1544
7. Mark Winterbottom 1447
8. Steven Johnson 1411
9. Alex Davison 1334
10. Jason Bright 1280

Bathurst practice lap record
Craig Lowndes
2m06.8012s, 2010
Bathurst qualifying lap record
Greg Murphy
2m06.8594s, 2003
Bathurst race lap record
Jamie Whincup
2m08.4651s, 2007