Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife wrapped up their second straight Phillip Island 500k victory, bringing Lowndes closer to his Triple Eight Holden teammate Jamie Whincup in the V8 Supercars title race.
Lowndes looked set to come under pressure from the flying Shane van Gisbergen in the closing stages as the Stone Brothers Ford kept its tires in better shape than the leaders and mounted a late charge. But when van Gisbergen's handling went off with six laps to go, he slowed dramatically.
That allowed Whincup to pounce. The points leader and partner Andrew Thompson had led much of the middle of the race before two minor pit delays – the first due to a sticking door damaged in contact with Skaife earlier on, and the second when both Triple Eight cars had to pit at the same time under yellow and the No. 88 had to queue behind the leading No. 888.
Whincup got past van Gisbergen with a lap and a half to go to complete another Triple Eight one-two.
Polesitters Will Davison and Luke Youlden led the early laps and came home third for Ford Performance Racing, with Davison passing van Gisbergen moments after Whincup had.
Garth Tander and co-driver Nick Percat produced a stirring charge through the field after their Holden Racing Team car lost its front row start due to a pre-race gear problem. Percat flew up the order during his stints and Tander was in position to battle with Lowndes for the lead at the final restart.
Lowndes held on after some spectacular side-by-side racing, and Tander eventually drifted away, losing fourth to Davison with an error a few laps from the finish, but then reclaiming it by overtaking the fading van Gisbergen on the run to the line.
David Reynolds and Tim Blanchard were sixth in the best of Kelly Racing's Holdens, with Jason Bright and Andrew Jones (Brad Jones Racing) coming through from 22nd on the grid to seventh despite a penalty for contact.