Skaife shows strength in race 3
Mark Skaife made it two wins from three races as he took victory in race three of the PlaceMakers V8 International at Pukekohe Park Raceway, New Zealand
Skaife took victory ahead of a pair of Fords, Craig Lowndes just sneaking home ahead of Mark Winterbottom who recorded his best result in V8 Supercar racing.
Garth Tander consolidated his second race result with fourth place while fifth for Russell Ingall rounded a strong performance for the reigning series champion.
Two wins in three races saw Skaife take the round victory from Winterbottom and Ingall, while in the title fight Ingall is the new leader, one point ahead of Rick Kelly with Kelly's teammate Garth Tander next in line.
Leading the championship going into the round, Jamie Whincup fell from first to sixth, 66 points behind Ingall.
After the excitement that filled the first two races, the final race was relatively quiet. Skaife led Ingall and Winterbottom away at the start, with drivers again generally pitting early.
An early safety car caught a few drivers out, but as the race settled down Skaife retook the lead at half distance, with Mark Winterbottom having been on his tail since their earlier pit stops.
As the laps wound down, Winterbottom faded ever so slightly as Lowndes slowly closed in. In the closing laps, on lap 46 of 50, Lowndes dived inside at the hairpin only to run wide on the exit and lose the place.
But Lowndes hung on and on the last lap succesfully made the move at the hairpin, giving Winterbottom a small tap along the way, to steal second in the dying seconds of the race.
Pos Driver Car 1. Mark Skaife Holden Commodore VZ 2. Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon BA 3. Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon BA 4. Garth Tander Holden Commodore VZ 5. Russell Ingall Ford Falcon BA 6. Steven Richards Holden Commodore VZ 7. Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VZ 8. James Courtney Ford Falcon BA 9. Steven Johnson Ford Falcon BA 10. Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon BA 11. Paul Dumbrell Holden Commodore VZ 12. Paul Morris Holden Commodore VZ 13. Jason Bargwanna Ford Falcon BA 14. Paul Radisich Holden Commodore VZ 15. Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VZ 16. Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VZ 17. Andrew Jones Holden Commodore VZ 18. Brad Jones Ford Falcon BA 19. Jason Richards Holden Commodore VZ 20. Jason Bright Ford Falcon BA 21. Fabian Coulthard Holden Commodore VZ 22. Steve Owen Holden Commodore VZ 23. Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VZ 24. Mark Porter Holden Commodore VZ 25. Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VZ 26. Warren Luff Ford Falcon BA 27. Marcus Marshall Ford Falcon BA 28. Will Davison Ford Falcon BA DNF Dean Canto Holden Commodore VZ DNF Max Wilson Ford Falcon BA
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