Lowndes takes tough race one

Lowndes recovered from a good, but not great, start and a quick stall in the pits to take the win, doing the best he could to take the championship down to the wire. Tasmanian round winner Garth Tander was up there once again to finish second, while 2003 and 2004 series champion Marcos Ambrose competed the top three as he dared dream for a third title in a row.

With just two races remaining and 128 points up for grabs, Russell Ingall needed a strong result. And he got one, taking fifth place, as any hopes the Holden hopefuls had went off track literally.

All three of the Holden drivers in contention for the title went off the circuit, with Mark Skaife going off on lap one, and Todd Kelly and Steven Richards involved in an incident with each other.

The battle for the title is now officially down to the three Ford drivers. Ingall remains on top, with Lowndes' win inching him closer, 41 points behind. Ambrose is still in with a chance, 82 points behind teammate Ingall, but could drop further back before race two begins if he is penalised for an incident during his entry to pit lane on his pit stop.

A brilliant start by Garth Tander saw him sweep into the lead at turn one ahead of Craig Lowndes and Marcos Ambrose, with Jason Bright and Rick Kelly completing the top five. Further back in the field Mark Skaife went off at turn one, dropping towards the back of the field.

A few incidents in the early laps down the order didn't take away from the battle at the front, which saw Tander holding off the pair of Fords of Lowndes and Ambrose.

The leaders pitted early, Tander the first to do so on lap six. One lap later Lowndes and Ambrose were in, and there was drama.

As they reached the pit-speed line, Ambrose misjudged Lowndes' speed, with Ambrose taking to the grass to avoid contact as they crossed the pit-speed line. Then Lowndes stalled as he exited his pit, which meant that after the pit stops were over, Ambrose led from Lowndes, with Tander in third.

Further down the order Bright had made contact with Greg Murphy as he exited his pit, damaging the front splitter. This bunched Todd Kelly and Steven Richards up behind him as they both tried to pass.

On lap eleven they argued over the same piece of track entering turn two, and both lost out, spinning off. Richards lost out even further when he was handed a drive-through penalty for his part in the incident.

Up at the front Ambrose was struggling with tyres, not helped by his lock-up on the entry to the pits. After several laps behind him, Lowndes eventually squeezed through at Lukey Heights on lap 15 to take the lead, though it did involve a couple of wheels on the grass as Ambrose didn't want to relent.

From there Lowndes opened a small gap to take the win, Tander taking second from Ambrose with four laps remaining as the reigning champion preferred to make it home than lose all points in a fight. The top five was completed by Tander's teammate Rick Kelly and Ambrose's teammate and championship leader Ingall.

Result of race one:

Pos  Driver              Car
 1.  Craig Lowndes       Ford Falcon BA
 2.  Garth Tander        Holden Commodore VZ
 3.  Marcos Ambrose      Ford Falcon BA
 4.  Rick Kelly          Holden Commodore VZ
 5.  Russell Ingall      Ford Falcon BA
 6.  Greg Murphy         Holden Commodore VZ
 7.  Paul Radisich       Holden Commodore VZ
 8.  Steve Ellery        Ford Falcon BA
 9.  Paul Dumbrell       Holden Commodore VZ
10.  Paul Weel           Holden Commodore VZ
11.  David Brabham       Ford Falcon BA
12.  Jamie Whincup       Holden Commodore VZ
13.  Todd Kelly          Holden Commodore VZ
14.  Paul Morris         Holden Commodore VZ
15.  Mark Skaife         Holden Commodore VZ
16.  Jason Bargwanna     Ford Falcon BA
17.  Jason Richards      Holden Commodore VZ
18.  Cameron McConville  Holden Commodore VZ
19.  Mark Winterbottom   Ford Falcon BA
20.  Max Wilson          Holden Commodore VZ
21.  Steve Owen          Ford Falcon BA
22.  Steven Johnson      Ford Falcon BA
23.  John Bowe           Ford Falcon BA
24.  Brad Jones          Ford Falcon BA
25.  Lee Holdsworth      Holden Commodore VZ
26.  Owen Kelly          Holden Commodore VZ
27.  Steven Richards     Holden Commodore VZ
28.  Matthew White       Ford Falcon BA
29.  Glenn Seton         Ford Falcon BA
30.  Craig Baird         Ford Falcon BA
31.  Jason Bright        Ford Falcon BA
DNF  David Besnard       Ford Falcon BA
DNF  Simon Wills         Holden Commodore VZ