Tander wins again in race three

Like in race two, the race started on a wet track but dried, drivers changing from wets to slicks at their compulsory pit stops. Leading all the way this time was Garth Tander who held onto the win despite strong challenges from Mark Winterbottom, Todd Kelly and then Jason Bright in the closing laps.

This time Bright didn't make the same mistake he did in race two, pushing Tander hard in the closing laps as rain began to fall again. Bright's teammate Winterbottom rounded out the podium, the same trio finishing in the same order overall for the round.

Rick Kelly and Todd Kelly were next home, Todd looking set for second place before making an error at turn two and dropping three places.

Craig Lowndes consolidated his race two result with a seventh place, pressuring Rick Kelly for the first half of the race, before falling away in the second half, and doing well to only lose one place on lap 47 when he had a moment on the grass going past the pits.

With the inaugural round in Bahrain to be followed by the final round at Phillip Island, there are still 642 points available. The title battle at the top has changed - heading into this round, Lowndes led Rick Kelly by 30 points. After the Tasmanian round, Kelly leads Lowndes by 74, with Mark Winterbottom 199 points behind Lowndes.

Russell Ingall and Tander are long shots, 433 and 445 points behind Kelly, while Jason Bright and Steven Richards round out the list of drivers with a mathematical chance, 563 and 626 points off the points leader.

Pos  Driver                   Car
 1.  Garth Tander             Holden Commodore VZ
 2.  Jason Bright             Ford Falcon BA
 3.  Mark Winterbottom        Ford Falcon BA
 4.  Rick Kelly               Holden Commodore VZ
 5.  Todd Kelly               Holden Commodore VZ
 6.  Steven Richards          Holden Commodore VZ
 7.  Craig Lowndes            Ford Falcon BA
 8.  Paul Dumbrell            Holden Commodore VZ
 9.  Cameron McConville       Holden Commodore VZ
10.  Russell Ingall           Ford Falcon BA
11.  John Bowe                Ford Falcon BA
12.  Will Davison             Ford Falcon BA
13.  Brad Jones               Ford Falcon BA
14.  Jason Richards           Holden Commodore VZ
15.  Max Wilson               Ford Falcon BA
16.  Paul Morris              Holden Commodore VZ
17.  Dean Canto               Holden Commodore VZ
18.  Warren Luff              Ford Falcon BA
19.  Shane Price              Holden Commodore VZ
20.  Tony Ricciardello        Ford Falcon BA
21.  Jason Bargwanna          Ford Falcon BA
22.  Lee Holdsworth           Holden Commodore VZ
DNF  James Courtney           Ford Falcon BA
DNF  Mark Skaife              Holden Commodore VZ
DNF  Steve Owen               Holden Commodore VZ
DNF  Steven Johnson           Ford Falcon BA
DNF  Andrew Jones             Holden Commodore VZ
DNF  Marcus Marshall          Ford Falcon BA