Symmons Plain V8s: Craig Lowndes denies Jamie Whincup in race three
Craig Lowndes completed a hat trick of wins for Triple Eight in a fascinating third V8 Supercars race at Symmons Plains in Tasmania
Lowndes made a perfect start from second on the grid, and was nearly one second ahead of polesitting team-mate Jamie Whincup into Turn 1.
This allowed Lowndes onto the optimal fuel strategy as teams were forced to split strategies to avoid stacking their cars in the pits during cautions.
Lowndes led through both cycles of pitstops and produced a succession of fastest laps to build up an unbeatable gap to Whincup in a perfect drive for his 39th V8 Supercars victory.
Whincup brought the second Triple Eight car home in second after running a different strategy to Lowndes, pitting early and running a long second stint.
Second place completed a fantastic weekend for the reigning champion after his double win on Saturday.
Holden Racing Team's James Courtney rounded out the podium spots as he stole third at mid-race from Scott McLaughlin in the GRM-run Polestar Volvo.
Will Davison in the Erebus Mercedes ended up fourth after a battle with a late charging Fabian Coulthard that was only decided on the last lap. Coulthard ran a long first and second stint but could not take advantage of his newer tyres.
McLaughlin showed impressive pace early on, dicing with Whincup for second until a long pitstop on lap 44 put the Kiwi into a battle for fourth. A clash with Courtney at Turn 1 put the tracking of the Volvo out of line, and left McLaughlin wondering what could have been in sixth.
Race two runner-up Mark Winterbottom sneaked into the top 10 in ninth after a long first pitstop allowed the Ford Performance Racing Driver to take less fuel at the last stop and jump places from his 13th starting spot.
Results - 84 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Holden 1h15m08.3240s 2. Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Holden +5.3910s 3. James Courtney HRT Holden +10.0950s 4. Will Davison Erebus Mercedes +13.0283s 5. Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Holden +13.1526s 6. Scott McLaughlin GRM Volvo +17.4855s 7. Shane van Gisbergen Tekno Holden +18.2185s 8. Tim Slade Rosenberg/HRT Holden +18.5269s 9. Mark Winterbottom FPR Ford +18.9026s 10. David Reynolds Rod Nash/FPR Ford +19.9221s 11. Russell Ingall Dumbrell Holden +21.4529s 12. Lee Holdsworth Erebus Mercedes +28.2436s 13. David Wall Dick Johnson Ford +29.1083s 14. Chaz Mostert FPR Ford +31.7184s 15. Nick Percat Walkinshaw/HRT Holden +33.5337s 16. Scott Pye Dick Johnson Ford +36.8697s 17. Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden +39.2701s 18. Jack Perkins Schwerkolt/FPR Ford +48.3023s 19. Michael Caruso Nissan +1 lap 20. Rick Kelly Nissan +1 lap 21. Todd Kelly Nissan +1 lap 22. James Moffat Nissan +1 lap 23. Robert Dahlgren GRM Volvo +1 lap 24. Dale Wood Britek/BJR Holden +1 lap 25. Garth Tander HRT Holden +10 laps
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