Craig Lowndes wins again to gain further points on Mark Winterbottom

Craig Lowndes claimed yet another crucial victory in the final V8 Supercars race of the weekend at Phillip Island, cutting the gap in the points to championship Mark Winterbottom to 179 points ahead of the season finale in Sydney.

Lowndes started second but made a poor getaway, dropping two positions to Triple Eight Race Engineering team mate Jamie Whincup and Volvo Polestar Racing driver Scott McLaughlin.

Winterbottom held the lead initially for Prodrive Racing Australia with McLaughlin close behind as Whincup chose to pit early on.

McLaughlin emerged as leader after the first stop, with Lowndes passing both Winterbottom and Whincup after his stop.

Lowndes claimed the lead after the second and final stop, with McLaughlin rejoining the track close behind the Holden driver. McLaughlin was close throughout the final part of the race but never close enough to challenge.

Lowndes claimed his second victory of the weekend ahead of McLaughlin who nets his best weekend of 2015 with three podium finishes from three races.

There was a controversial fight for third place on the final lap between Winterbottom and Whincup as the reigning champion quickly gained on the Ford driver. Whincup dived down the inside of Winterbottom at the MG corner, resulting in contact between the two. Whincup managed to get past and Winterbottom commented the incident after the race:

”I wasn’t quick enough. Jamie had a crack and I moved across. I’m fine with the move.”

Nissan Motorsport drivers Todd Kelly and Rick Kelly claimed positions five and six, with Shane van Gisbergen crossing the line in seventh. James Moffat rounded off the top eight, making it three Nissan Altimas in the top ten.

One race weekend remains of the 2015 V8 Supercars with the season finale in Sydney on December 5-6th.