Courtney/Perkins score fairytale GC600 victory

A mid-race fuel strategy call set up a sensational victory for James Courtney and Jack Perkins on the former’s return from injury at Surfers Paradise.

Entering the weekend under a cloud following a two-month lay-off, Courtney showed no signs of weakness as he conserved fuel to the chequered flag.

The victory also marks a maiden triumph for Jack Perkins in his 129th V8 Supercars Championship start.

Rick Kelly/David Russell took second for Nissan ahead of Garth Tander/Warren Luff, who secured the Pirtek Enduro Cup on a fairytale day for the HRT.

THE FINAL RACE OF THE 2023 REPCO SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP ON ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST STREET CIRCUITS.
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Starting from 11th on the gird, Perkins held 10th through the early stages; a position that Courtney continued in once the minimum co-driver laps expired.

A debris Safety Car on lap 54 then turned the race on its head, triggering the entire field to pitlane for fuel and soft tyres significantly ahead of schedule.

Double-stacking hurt all of those running behind their team-mates, including Courtney, who rejoined the circuit 16th.

Returning for a splash of fuel before the Safety Car returned to pitlane however would prove the winning move.

Restarting 20th, the #22 Commodore eventually cycled to the front as others progressively made their third stops – the last of which came just five laps from the flag.

Kelly meanwhile elected against a splash of fuel at all, conserving throughout a near 50 lap final stint to score second in a car that had run 23rd after a torrid opening lap.

Tander led the majority of the race’s second half before peeling in for fuel with 10 laps to go and rejoining third, marking a three-place gain on where he’d run at the restart.

Eventual fourth place finishers Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards Holden had led the early stages and appeared on course for victory before the mid-race strategy twist.

Lowndes led at the restart before proving among the first to commit to the third stop, dropping him temporarily down the order.

The pole-sitting Scott McLaughlin/Alexandre Premat Volvo shadowed the Red Bull Holden from the outset, but eventually finished sixth after losing out late to a charging Shane van Gisbergen.

The Jamie Whincup/Paul Dumbrell Holden took seventh despite double-stacking in its stop, followed home by James Moffat, David Reynolds and Michael Caruso.

Mark Winterbottom’s championship lead was further eroded by a lacklustre run to 11th, while the sister Cameron Waters/Russell Ingall entry struggled for pace on its way to 19th.

Winterbottom now leads Lowndes by 258 points with three events remaining.

Result: V8 Supercars Race 27, Surfers Paradise

1	Holden Racing Team	J.Courtney/J.Perkins	Holden Commodore VF	102	02:14:20.4257
2	Nissan Motorsport	R.Kelly/D.Russell	Nissan Altima	102	02:14:22.4187
3	Holden Racing Team	G.Tander/W.Luff	Holden Commodore VF	102	02:14:26.1032
4	Red Bull Racing Australia	C.Lowndes/S.Richards	Holden Commodore VF	102	02:14:31.6848
5	Team Darrell Lea STIX	S.Van Gisbergen/J.Webb	Holden Commodore VF	102	02:14:34.9491
6	Wilson Security Racing GRM	S.McLaughlin/A.Premat	Volvo S60	102	02:14:35.5685
7	Red Bull Racing Australia	J.Whincup/P.Dumbrell	Holden Commodore VF	102	02:14:36.0590
8	Nissan Motorsport	J.Moffat/T.Douglas	Nissan Altima	102	02:14:36.2947
9	The Bottle-O Racing Team	D.Reynolds/D.Canto	Ford Falcon FG/X	102	02:14:39.1019
10	Nissan Motorsport	M.Caruso/D.Fiore	Nissan Altima	102	02:14:41.8647
11	Pepsi Max Crew	M.Winterbottom/S.Owen	Ford Falcon FG/X	102	02:14:42.9338
12	Supercheap Auto Racing	T.Slade/T.D’Alberto	Holden Commodore VF	102	02:14:49.8877
13	Freightliner Racing	F.Coulthard/L.Youlden	Holden Commodore VF	102	02:14:50.3802
14	Walkinshaw Racing	L.Holdsworth/S.Bourdais	Holden Commodore VF	102	02:14:50.7841
15	Repair Management Aust Racing	N.Percat/O.Gavin	Holden Commodore VF	102	02:14:52.9429
16	Erebus Motorsport V8	W.Davison/A.Davison	Mercedes E63 AMG	102	02:15:00.5318
17	Nissan Motorsport	T.Kelly/A.Buncombe	Nissan Altima	102	02:15:10.4312
18	Super Black Racing	A.Heimgartner/A.Pedersen	Ford Falcon FG/X	102	02:15:12.9558
19	Pepsi Max Crew	C.Waters/R.Ingall	Ford Falcon FG/X	102	02:15:16.3535
20	GB Galvanizing Racing	D.Wood/M.Jones	Holden Commodore VF	102	02:15:16.6141
21	DJR Team Penske	S.Pye/M.Ambrose	Ford Falcon FG/X	102	02:15:31.1188
22	Team Cooldrive	T.Blanchard/K.Reindler	Holden Commodore VF	101	02:14:51.9744
23	Team BOC	J.Bright/A.Jones	Holden Commodore VF	97	02:14:46.5574
24	Erebus Motorsport V8	A.Walsh/J.Le Brocq	Mercedes E63 AMG	88	02:14:24.5375
DNF	Wilson Security Racing GRM	Chris Pither	Volvo S60	6	7:41.0451

Championship Standings

1	Mark Winterbottom	2599
2	Craig Lowndes	2341
3	David Reynolds	2281
4	Garth Tander	2141
5	Fabian Coulthard	2096
6	Shane van Gisbergen	2061
7	Chaz Mostert	2017
8	Jamie Whincup	1792
9	Rick Kelly	1637
10	James Courtney	1634
11	Scott McLaughlin	1578
12	Tim Slade	1456
13	Michael Caruso	1441
14	Jason Bright	1392
15	Will Davison	1336
16	Lee Holdsworth	1335
17	James Moffat	1274
18	Todd Kelly	1236
19	Nick Percat	1154
20	Scott Pye	1059
21	Dale Wood	1046
22	Andre Heimgartner	977
23	Tim Blanchard	969
24	David Wall	831
25	Warren Luff	747
26	Ash Walsh	726
27	Jonathon Webb	699
28	Jack Perkins	693
29	Steve Owen	684
30	Steve Richards	681
31	Dean Canto	648
32	Luke Youlden	516
33	David Russell	492
34	Alexandre Premat	492
35	Tony D’Alberto	462
36	Taz Douglas	426
37	Sebastien Bourdais	423
38	Russell Ingall	414
39	Dean Fiore	399
40	Marcos Ambrose	395
41	Cameron Waters	378
42	Andrew Jones	345
43	Macauley Jones	327
44	Alex Davison	327
45	Paul Dumbrell	326
46	Karl Reindler	288
47	Alex Buncombe	276
48	Oliver Gavin	258
49	Ant Pedersen	185
50	Jack Le Brocq	177
51	Chris Pither	141
52	Aaren Russell	108
53	Drew Russell	108
54	Simona de Silvestro	84
55	Renee Gracie	84

Pirtek Enduro Cup Standings

1	Garth Tander/Warren Luff	747
2	Shane van Gisbergen/Jonathon Webb	699
3	Mark Winterbottom/Steve Owen	684
4	Craig Lowndes/Steve Richards	681
5	David Reynolds/Dean Canto	648
6	James Courtney/Jack Perkins	573
7	Fabian Coulthard/Luke Youlden	516
8	Scott McLaughlin/Alexandre Pramat	492
9	Rick Kelly/David Russell	492
10	Tim Slade/Tony D’Alberto	462
11	James Moffat/Taz Douglas	426
12	Lee Holdsworth/Sebastein Bourdais	423
13	Michael Caruso/Dean Fiore	399
14	Cameron Waters/Russell Ingall	378
15	Jamie Whincup/Paul Dumbrell	351
16	Jason Bright/Andrew Jones	345
17	Will Davison/Alex Davison	327
18	Dale Wood/Macauley Jones	327
19	Tim Blanchard/Karl Reindler	288
20	Todd Kelly/Alex Buncombe	276
21	Scott Pye/Marcos Ambrose	270
22	Nick Percat/Oliver Gavin	258
23	Andre Heimgartner/Ant Pedersen	210
24	Ash Walsh/Jack Le Brocq	177
25	David Wall/Chris Pither	141
26	Aaren Russell/Drew Russell	108
27	Simona de Silvestro/Renee Gracie	84