Photo: Garry Rogers Motorsport

Holdsworth/Besnard still leading after four hours

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Lee Holdsworth and David Besnard still lead the Bathurst 1000km, from Craig Lowndes & Mark Skaife, as drama hits the pole sitting Ford of Mark Winterbottom/Luke Youlden.

A broken front right wheel at the top of the mountain for the Triple F Ford Falcon of Dean Fiore started off the next part of the 1000km race, causing a safety car which created a split strategy in this race.

HRT and FPR didn’t pit Davison & Youlden; nor did Dean Canto & Greg Murphy, as the majority of cars took the opportunity to pit.

At the restart, Murphy shot straight past the Bottle-O Racing car of Canto for third in the Castrol Racing Holden Commodore, and then moved ahead of the FPR Falcon on lap 65.

Later, a few cars and drivers started to fade, first BJR’s Jason Richards run through the field was deconstructed with a jamming throttle, with the car losing laps whilst the throttle cable was changed. Soon after, the Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon in the hands of John McIntyre suffered a puncture after hitting some debris and lost time slowly heading back to the pits.

On lap 71, FPR’s Luke Youlden hit the wall at the top of the mountain. It was a heavy hit for the Ford Falcon, but the damage appeared to be restricted to the tyre, as Youlden recovered the car to the pits and handed over to Mark Winterbottom – but FPR’s chance of finally winning at Bathurst have been significantly hit.

Winterbottom set off on a recovery drive, passing the HRT of Cameron McConville for 16th place on lap 86, but FPR’s Campbell Little reports that the camber settings on the Ford Falcon have been affected and the car is losing pace as the tyres lose their grip. After four hours, and with Youlden back in the car, the No.5 car is in 20th.

HRT driver McConville lost further positions whilst battling David Brabham in the SBR Ford. McConville was forced off the circuit heading out of The Chase, narrowly missing a tyre stack, and as a result fell back to 18th place.

After four hours, the No.33 GRM Holden of Lee Holdsworth and David Besnard still holds a slim lead over the TeamVodafone Commodore of Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife, with James Courtney and Warren Luff up to third in the Jim Beam Racing Ford Falcon.