Brock claims 10th victory

The win marked Australian touring car legend Brock's 10th endurance race victory at the infamous Mount Panorama circuit, fully demonstrating why he holds the title of 'King of the Mountain.'

"It is quite a long time since I stood up here in this position and I can tell you it is an excellent feeling," said Brock, who won the Bathurst 1000 touring car race on nine occasions. "It's unbelievable - I'm over the moon!"

Despite being a 24-hour endurance race, the finish was more befitting of an Australian V8 Supercar sprint. The 'nuclear Banana' Monaro had led for much of the race, but dropped back with just over an hour to go after a lengthy pit-stop to top up the differential oil.

At the wheel of the car, Garth Tander launched a blistering comeback drive, heaping pressure on Greg Murphy in the lead Holden. Tander set the fastest lap of the race on lap 524 - just three before the end of the event! In the end, however, his charge was in vain, as he finished just 0.3s behind the winner.

"I certainly gave it a go," said Tander. "There was more carnage, more debris and more slow cars on the track in the last three laps than there was in the whole 24 hours.

"We were having a bit of a go and I had a couple of looks, but it wasn't worth fencing both cars. And besides, I still wanted to be employed tomorrow."

The Monaros path to victory was eased when the only car that was able to trouble them, the Ferrari 360 of David Brabham, Klaus Engelhorn, Phillip Peter and Andrea Montermini, dropped out of the race just after half distance with a blown engine.

This left third place to the Falken Tyres Porsche 911 of Paul Morris, Peter Fitzgerald, Scott Shearman and John Teulan, although it finished some 13 laps adrift of the Holdens. The result ensured an Australian sweep of the podium - well, it might be some consolation after the Rugby...

The Alzen brothers Porsche 911 finished fourth overall, and also claimed Class B honours, with the British Mosler entry coming home fifth. The car had lost time with damaged bodywork, but a charge by Martin Short, Patrick Pearce, Charles Lamb and Heather Spurle helped it move back up the order.

Brock/Murphy/Bright/Kelly Holden Monaro 527 laps
Tander/Richards/Pretty/McConville Holden Monaro +0.3s
Shearman/Teulan/Fitzgerald/Morris Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 515 laps
Alzen/Alzen/Klasen/Bartels Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Class B) 514 laps
Short/Pearce/Lamb/Spurte Mosler MT900R 507 laps