Jamie Whincup will head into next month’s V8 Supercars title decider with a 20 point lead over Craig Lowndes after taking victory in Race 34 at Phillip Island.
Just as Lowndes had done in the afternoon’s earlier heat, Whincup set up his win with unbeatable early pace.
The Red Bull Holden moved from fifth on the grid to the lead in the space of just two laps, scything by Fabian Coulthard, Jason Bright, Mark Winterbottom and Lowndes in quick succession.
Lowndes struggled for rear grip in the early stages, dropping to third behind Winterbottom on Lap 3.
The order remained stagnant until the flag, despite two Safety Car interventions for mid-race incidents.
The first came after Lee Holdsworth’s Mercedes stopped at Lukey Heights with its left-front wheel missing.
The errant wheel shot over the fence and spectators before bouncing clear of harm’s way.
The restart lap provided yet more action, with a tag from David Reynolds spinning Chaz Mostert at the Turn 4 hairpin. Russell Ingall was also caught up in the melee.
Bright and Coulthard were best-of-the-rest behind the title contenders at the flag, while Will Davison, James Moffat, Rick Kelly, Alex Davison and Shane van Gisbergen completed the top 10.
Whincup’s win stretches his lead from six points to 20 over Lowndes, while Winterbottom is 105 points further adrift in third.
Will Davison is also in mathematical title contention sitting 223 points down with 300 available in Sydney.
See below for the full Race 34 result
1 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 23 | 42:22.90 |
2 | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 23 | 42:23.78 |
3 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 23 | 42:24.30 |
4 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 23 | 42:24.79 |
5 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VF | 23 | 42:25.75 |
6 | Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 23 | 42:27.58 |
7 | Norton Hornets | James Moffat | Nissan Altima | 23 | 42:30.44 |
8 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 23 | 42:31.46 |
9 | Jeld-wen FPR Ford | Alex Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 23 | 42:32.85 |
10 | TEKNO Team VIP Petfoods | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 23 | 42:33.06 |
11 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Holden Commodore VF | 23 | 42:33.68 |
12 | The Bottle-O FPR Ford | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 23 | 42:34.22 |
13 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 23 | 42:34.66 |
14 | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VF | 23 | 42:35.12 |
15 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 23 | 42:35.72 |
16 | Wilson Security Racing | Tim Blanchard | Ford Falcon FG | 23 | 42:35.94 |
17 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VF | 23 | 42:36.63 |
18 | Dodo Insurance Racing | Dean Fiore | Holden Commodore VF | 23 | 42:37.84 |
19 | SP Tools Racing | Maro Engel | Mercedes E63 AMG | 23 | 42:39.21 |
20 | Heavy Haulage Australia Racing | Tim Slade | Mercedes E63 AMG | 23 | 42:50.75 |
DNF | Norton Hornets | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 21 | 39:23.99 |
DNF | Wilson Security Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG | 14 | 26:07.31 |
DNF | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VF | 14 | 26:10.70 |
DNF | TEKNO Team Darrell Lea | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VF | 12 | 21:24.72 |
DNF | Team HIFLEX | Tony D’Alberto | Holden Commodore VF | 11 | 40:41.16 |
DNF | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Mercedes E63 AMG | Â 9 | 14:21.48 |
 See below for the updated points standings (Top 28)Â
1 | Jamie Whincup | 2815 |
2 | Craig Lowndes | 2795 |
3 | Mark Winterbottom | 2691 |
4 | Will Davison | 2592 |
5 | Fabian Coulthard | 2393 |
6 | Garth Tander | 2259 |
7 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 2254 |
8 | Jason Bright | 2123 |
9 | James Courtney | 1909 |
10 | David Reynolds | 1866 |
11 | Scott McLaughlin | 1865 |
12 | Jonathon Webb | 1727 |
13 | Alex Davison | 1653 |
14 | Rick Kelly | 1619 |
15 | Russell Ingall | 1439 |
16 | James Moffat | 1403 |
17 | Chaz Mostert | 1394 |
18 | Tony D’Alberto | 1361 |
19 | Lee Holdsworth | 1259 |
20 | Alexandre Premat | 1253 |
21 | David Wall | 1250 |
22 | Tim Slade | 1136 |
23 | Dean Fiore | 1115 |
24 | Michael Caruso | 1089 |
25 | Tim Blanchard | 1080 |
26 | Scott Pye | 1049 |
27 | Todd Kelly | 1007 |
28 | Maro Engel | 893 |